By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This past week, December 7-9, the Port Isabel Tarpons competed in the C.E. Vail Basketball Tournament hosted by La Feria. One of the biggest basketball tournaments in South Texas, the tourney featured a whopping 35 teams. Teams competing in the tournament included teams such as Harlingen, Brownsville Hanna, Donna, Edinburg Vela, Mercedes, PSJA High, Rio Hondo, Weslaco, Raymondville, Corpus Christ’s Miller, and CC Moody.
On day one of the tourney, Port Isabel got off to a good start as they beat Brownsville Lopez 71-46. In their second game of the day, the Tarpons picked up another big win as they defeated IDEA Weslaco Pike 72-44.
On day two of the tourney, Port Isabel faced off against Edinburg North in the gold bracket. With the Tarpons down 30-22 midway in the third quarter, PI’s Jeffrey Smith led the Tarpons on a 10-3 run as they cut down the Cougars lead to just a point (33-32). The third quarter came to an end with both teams committing a handful of turnovers and the Cougars holding onto a 36-32 lead.
In the fourth quarter, both teams’ defense tightened up as each team only managed to score once in the first five minutes of the quarter. With less than two minutes left in the game, J. Smith made a strong drive towards the basket and scored on a layup. He also made the free throw on a foul as the Tarpons now trailed 40-37.
With under a minute to play, the Cougars played keep away as they tried to hold onto a 40-39 lead. The Tarpons were forced to foul, and the Cougars made both free throws. With 15 seconds to go, PI missed a 3-point attempt, but PI’s Aiden Sanchez was there to grab the rebound and quickly scored on a layup. PI now trailed 42-41.
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