Weslaco High wins second straight Diamondback Classic championship

MISSION — If the conclusion of Sharyland’s Diamondback Classic looked familiar to last season’s event that was because it was the very same outcome.

Weslaco High defeated Hidalgo 53-36 on Saturday at Sharyland High School to claim its second straight Classic championship.

But this season’s win came with new challenges for the Panthers.

“We were fortunate again to win it this year,” Panthers coach Gabe Valdez said. “We lost five seniors. We had to replace those guys, but this group has stepped it up. (The team) has done a good job.”

A young team is not always the most polished, especially in a tourney Valdez said provides strong competition.

The Pirates challenged the Panthers for almost three quarters before the latter took control for the 17-point win.

Hidalgo’s Trazon Jones nailed a 3 with 2:09 to go in the third frame that gave the Pirates a 31-28 lead. It was short lived.

Weslaco quickly pushed the ball up court for a Rodrigo Verduzco 3 that tied the game at 31, sparking a 25-5 run the rest of the game.

Buoyed by six missed layups in the fourth quarter, the Panthers hit cruise control once they pushed the lead to double digits on an impressive spin move by Andrew Rangel for a layup and a 43-33 edge. Weslaco outscored Hidalgo 19-5 in the fourth quarter.

“We lost our poise,” Pirates coach Gus Sanchez said. “We were counting. We missed three or four layups early in the fourth quarter. They were able to convert on the other side. From a four-point swing it went to a 6- or 7-point lead.”

Valdez said if it wasn’t for his team’s defense it would not have made the late run that it did.

“When our defense steps up, we tend to play a lot better,” Valdez said. “We made some key shots and stopped the key players they have.”

Tournament MVP Raul Garcia led the Panthers with 16 points. All-tournament selection Julius Marquez added 14 for Weslaco.

“We were nervous,” Garcia said about repeating as tourney champs. “We got to win. We did the same thing last year but we had eight seniors. They are gone. It is our time and we could do it.”

Rounding out the All-Tourney selections were Weslaco’s J.T. Lopez. Hidalgo's Andrew Espinoza and Gino Quiroz and Edinburg High's Andrew Olvera.