HIDALGO — The PSJA North Raiders entered the 10th annual Hidalgo Pirate Classic without a win on the season. That changed over the course of three days as the Raiders won four straight games to advance to the platinum bracket championship game before ultimately falling 86-38 against Houston Dickinson on Saturday at Hidalgo High School.
Houston Dickinson went a perfect 6-0 throughout the tourney to take home first place.
“We started gelling together and playing together and were able to build some confidence,” PSJA North head coach Angel Alonzo said. “This tournament gave us a lot of confidence and we got six good games that made us better. It was a good tournament. (Hidalgo) Coach (Gus) Sanchez does a great job.”
PSJA North won the 9th annual Hidalgo Pirate Classic two years ago by beating Houston Stafford in the championship game. This time around, the Raiders fought past Weslaco East 57-41 during the semifinals to earn a spot in Saturday’s championship game. PSJA North’s road to the tourney championship included victories against Donna North, Hidalgo and Valley View.
In the platinum bracket third-place game, Weslaco East lost to Houston Stafford 62-34. The Wildcats earned weekend wins against Edcouch-Elsa, Edinburg High, Rio Grande City and Rio Hondo before their fourth-place finish.
| The Weslaco East Wildcats finished fourth at the 10th annual Hidalgo Pirate Classic Boys Basketball Tournament at Hidalgo High School on Saturday. Courtesy Photo |
The gold bracket championship game featured Edinburg North rolling past Valley View 63-42.
La Feria got by Donna North 42-33 for the consolation championship, with Rio Grande City beating Lyford 75-52 for third place.
The platinum bracket all-tournament team included PSJA North’s Gianni Beltran and Juan Torres, Weslaco East’s Nacho Aranda, Valley View’ Lupe Trejo, Edinburg North’s Anthony Thomas and Hidalgo’s Fabian Frias. Donna North’s Jacob Gomez, La Feria’s Julian Torres and Gavin Vento, Rio Grande City’s Santos Canales and Weslaco IDEA’s Jacob Banda were named gold bracket all-tourney selections.
TOURNEY NOTES
Defending District 31-3A champion North Mission IDEA earned three victories at the Brownsville ISD Tournament over the weekend with some big wins over Class 5A and 6A programs. The Warriors took down San Benito 57-43 during pool play, then went on to beat crosstown opponents Mission High 84-58 on Friday and Mission Veterans 54-50 on Saturday.
McAllen Memorial beat Sharyland Pioneer in a matchup of District 31-5A rivals in the silver bracket championship at the Corpus Christi Coaches Association Tournament in Corpus Christi.
At the Seguin Tournament, McAllen High picked up Saturday wins over San Antonio Southside 50-40 and San Antonio Christian 72-45.
Weslaco High bounced back from an 0-2 start at the South San Antonio Tournament to finish 2-2 on the weekend. The Panthers topped San Antonio MacArthur 50-47 on Friday and wrapped up with a 44-33 win over San Antonio South San.