By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
On Friday, February 6 the PIECHS boys’ basketball team hosted the Hidalgo Pirates in a key district game, with this being the second go around between the teams. In the first meeting, the Tarpons edged out the Pirates 58-57 in a nail biter.
It didn’t look good for the Tarpons early on as they got off to rough start, having missed their first four shot attempts, which forced head coach Gilbert Rodriguez to call a timeout with 4:55 left in the first period and PI down 4-0.
As play resumed, PI finally got on the scoreboard with a bucket by Shiloh Galvan with less than four minutes to go. PI continued to have issues with turnovers, but they eventually tied the game up at 8-8 as Galvan’s jumper went in with 19 seconds to go. A 3-pointer by Hidalgo gave them a 11-8 lead at the end of one.
The Tarpons got off to a better start in the second quarter. Back-to-back baskets by PI’s Aidan Ramos gave PI its first lead of the game at 12-11, forcing Hidalgo to call a timeout.
Upon returning from the break, the teams battled it out as they change lead a few times for the next couple of minutes. Unfortunately for PI, Hidalgo went on an 8-0 run with two and a half minutes to go. As the halftime buzzer went off, the Pirates headed to the locker room with a 29-21 lead.
As the second half resumed, Ramos and Galvan got some buckets in. But Hidalgo, led by point guard Julio Perez, kept PI at arms reach as the Pirates continued to lead the Tarpons 33-25 early in the third quarter.
The Pirates went on a cold streak as they missed every shot attempt the remainder of the period, allowing PI to chip away at Hidalgo’s lead. With the period coming to an end, Galvan drove to the basket, spun, and made a circus shot to give the Tarpons a 34-33 lead.
The hard-fought battle carried into the final stanza, as the Pirates held a narrow 41–38 lead midway through fourth quarter. With a minute and a half to go, PI’s Eli Alvarez found Ramos under the basket for the bucket as the Tarpons tied the game up at 45-45. Down 50-45, PI’s Willy Mosqueda stole the ball and drove to the basket for the two points, but time expired. Pirates won 50-47 win.
The teams are headed to the final week of the regular season and current playoff positioning has Jubilee getting the top seed in Division 2 and Port Isabel #2. While in Division 1, has La Feria as the top seed, followed by Hidalgo as #2.
Port Isabel’s next game will be against La Feria (away) on Friday, February 13 at 6:30 p.m.
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