By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
The Port Isabel Tarpons boys’ basketball team spent their holidays competing in the Falfurrias basketball tournament on Friday & Saturday, Dec. 27-28. The ten-team tourney consisted of the following teams: Port Isabel, Falfurrias, Hebbronville, PSJA, Kaufer, Kenedy, McMullen County, Agua Dulce, San Isidro and Ben Bolt.
On Friday, the Tarpons got off to a great start in the tournament with wins over Agua Dulce (61-53) and Hebbronville (73-55). On Saturday, the Tarpons opened the day by beating McMullen County 43-40 as they
punched their ticket to the championship game.
In the final game, Port Isabel faced off against the Falfurrias Jerseys, with the Tarpons displaying exceptional teamwork to claim a decisive 66-46 victory and securing the tournament championship trophy.
The win over the 2A Agua Dulce Longhorns and 1A McMullen County Cowboys were quality wins as they both entered the tournament as state-ranked teams in their respective classes. The (12-2) Longhorns closed
out the tourney with four straight wins improving their overall record to 15-3. Meanwhile, the Cowboys finished the tournament 4-1 improving their overall record to 17-7.
Port Isabel basketball head coach, Gilbert Rodriguez was pleased with his team’s effort in the tourney.
“Overall, it was a great tournament for our team. We really used this tournament to play teams outside of the valley and used it for team bonding as well. We got some hard-fought wins over two state rank teams in
McMullen County and Agua Dulce,” said Rodriguez. “It was good to see what our team can do when we play to our potential.”
For their efforts on the court, these Tarpons earned the following honors: Cleveland Smith Offensive MVP, Christian Smith Defensive MVP, Shiloh Galvan All-Tournament, Grayson Estes All-Tournament and
Nathaniel Gonzalez All-Tournament.
The (7-9) Port Isabel Tarpons next game will be played on Friday, Jan. 3 when they go up against the 5A PSJA Bears at home.
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