By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This Monday, the Port Isabel ECHS boys’ basketball team traveled to Mission to take on the Zapata Hawks in a Bi-District Showdown. The teams had already met this season with the Tarpons picking up a 63-55 win back in January. Would the Tarpons repeat their success or will the Hawks use their height advantage to upset Port Isabel?
As the game got underway, the Zapata Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead forcing PI to call a quick timeout with six minutes left in the quarter. Upon returning from the break, PI’s Shiloh Galvan scored the Tarpons first points to make it a 3-3 tied game.
The Hawks then fell into a slump, as missed shots and turnovers fueled an 8-0 run by the Tarpons. Zapata eventually snapped its scoreless streak with a 3-pointer, but the Tarpons held a narrow 8-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Both teams missed some shots at the start of the second quarter, as this had the makings of a low-scoring game. Midway into the quarter, Zapata retook the lead, 11-10. Unfortunately for the Tarpons, their shooting woes continued as they only managed to make 1 of 12 shot attempts, allowing Zapata to stretch its lead to 24-12 by halftime.
When play resumed in the second half, the Tarpons started to find their shot again. Midway into the third quarter, PI’s Eli Alvarez found Aidan Ramos down in the post for the two points, making it a 30-22 game. Behind some aggressive rebounding, the Tarpons continued to chip away at the Hawks lead and now only trailed by seven points, 35-28, at the end of three.
The Tarpons started to feel the pressure in the fourth as their shots seemed forced. PI head coach, Gilbert Rodriguez called a timeout after they hit just one of their first six shot attempts. As play resumed, PI’s Marcos Baldovinos made a nice play as he grabbed an offensive rebound and quickly went up for the two points, as the Tarpons now trailed the Hawks 42-32.
With time winding down, the Hawks slowed the game down by keeping the ball away, forcing PI into foul trouble. With two minutes to go, PI got within five points, 49-44, but could not make anymore headway as the Hawks went on to win the game, 58-49.
“It was a tough loss for our boys. We started out well but Zapata had a big second quarter and we were playing from behind the rest of the way.” Said coach Rodriguez. “It’s always tough when you have your season end but I’m very proud of our team for how much we matured this year.”
The Hawks utilized their size advantage to the fullest by outrebounding the Tarpons and often leaving one of their big men by their basket ready for a fast break play. It was a grueling setback, but with nearly the entire roster returning, including all five starters, the Tarpons are poised to rebound and take it to the next level next season.
On another note, the girls basketball team also lost their playoff game to Zapata, 44-32, in the prior week.