By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
The PIECHS Boys basketball team competed at the Brownsville ISD Basketball Tournament held on December 4-6. On Day 1, the Tarpons lost their first game against Bro. Pace (53-43), but won game 2 against First Baptist (89-30). On Day 2, the Tarpons lost its game versus San Benito (83-70), but picked up another win against PSJA Southwest (86-55). On the final day of the tourney, the Tarpons beat Bro. Lopez (53-41) to advance to the gold bracket championship game where they faced the Bro. Veterans Memorial Chargers.
The game started off competitively as Shiloh Galvan’s two free throws broke a 4-4 tie giving Port Isabel an early 6-4 lead. Unfortunately, the Tarpons committed a handful of turnovers which led to a 14-2 Chargers run. Brownsville closed the opening quarter with an 18–8 advantage.
In the second quarter, both teams struggled with their shot, but Veterans rebounding led to some second and even third chance points as Brownsville extended their lead to 24-15 with 5:46 showing on the clock. The Tarpons continued to struggle as the Chargers went on to extend their lead to 31-16 at the halftime break.
As the third quarter got underway, the Tarpons shooting improved, but the Chargers still kept the Tarpons at arm length as they held a 36-20 lead with five minutes left in the third. By the time the quarter wrapped up, Brownsville held a 39–25 lead, and Galvan once again led the Tarpons’ offense, putting up nine points in the frame.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Tarpons made a great play as Galvan stole the ball and managed to throw the ball to teammate Grayson Estes before Galvan’s momentum carried him out of bounds. Galvan quickly came back to the court and made his shot with an assist by Estes to make it a 41-29 game. Both defenses stiffened up the rest of the way, and the Chargers ultimately secured the gold championship with a 47-38 victory.
PIECHS boys’ basketball head coach, Gilbert Rodriguez felt his team did well competing against the bigger schools. “I thought overall we saw flashes of what we can do now that we have a complete team. We finished 3-3 overall so we took some steps forward. We were neck and neck with Brownsville Pace and San Benito we just can’t afford to have a bad quarter, that’s been the difference so far.” Said Rodriguez. “I’m proud of the boys for battling all tournament.”
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