EDINBURG — It’s hard to get to the top and even harder to stay there, but Edinburg Vela isn’t one to shy away from a challenge.
The SaberCats successfully defended their District 31-5A crown this season and secured the program’s fifth district championship in six years.
Edinburg Vela put together another 30-win campaign and an 18-0 record in 31-5A, taking everyone’s best shot on a nightly basis in a tough 10-team district. The SaberCats won 16 of their 18 district games by double digits.
“I think a lot has to do with the kids that we get. We get very humble, hard-working kids that are going to do what it takes to win those district championships,” Edinburg Vela head coach Lucio Rodriguez said. “We’ve kind of created a buy-in program and everybody knows what’s expected. The guys have bought in and we’re fortunate to be successful.”
The SaberCats have put this season’s success behind them, however.
The state playoffs begin tonight, with Edinburg Vela (32-5, 18-0) facing Harlingen South (20-12, 13-5) at 7 p.m. at Edinburg Vela High School.
“It’s important for us to keep that Vela name up there with the district title, but that’s not the only goal we have,” senior captain EJ Avelar said. “Our goal is going to be tested in the playoffs by seeing how far we can get. That’s what we’ve been working and grinding for.”
The SaberCats’ playoff path begins with the South Hawks, a team that battled adversity in the form of injury this season to land the No. 4 seed in District 32-5A.
Rodriguez knows Harlingen South head coach Brian Molina will have his guys ready to go, so the SaberCats have to be prepared for a 32-minute battle from start to finish.
“We drew Harlingen South and that’s a well-coached team. I have the utmost respect for Coach Molina and I know he’ll have his team ready, so we’re not overlooking anybody,” Rodriguez said. “We’re going to come out ready to play. We know the game plan, now we have to go out and execute.”
The SaberCats have scorched opponents offensively this season with multiple scoring threats and players willing to make the extra pass to set their teammates up for easy looks. Rodriguez preaches passing on a good shot for a great shot and there’s plenty to go around in Vela’s high-level offense.
Four SaberCats average double digit points a night in senior forward Axel Garza (15.4 points, 8.7 rebounds), junior point guard JP Olivarez (12 points, 3.9 assists), Avelar (11.4 points, 2.1 steals) and sophomore guard Jordan Bustamante (11.2 points).
“It’s so fun as a point guard because you see everything happen before it happens,” Olivarez said. “You see the ball going there, there, there. We go back on film and we’re like, ‘We made seven passes on that play? I didn’t even know, I was just passing the ball, making the right play.’ We’re just out there playing basketball and having fun.”
On the other end of the floor, the SaberCats hound opposing offenses with their man-to-man defense, a scheme they embrace in going head-to-head for 32 minutes.
“We take pride in our defense. Man-to-man is a real big thing here,” senior guard Sam Sepulveda said. “You don’t really see too many teams going man-to-man because, at the end of the day, they’ll probably get scored on. You see a lot of teams going in zone (defense) against us, but we’ve never gone to zone, even against out of Valley teams. At the end of the day, that’s just going to make us better and prepare us for the playoffs.”
Now that the postseason has arrived, the SaberCats are chasing multiple playoff wins. Their season ended in the area round last year against Corpus Christi Flour Bluff, but the SaberCats feel they have the pieces to put together a playoff run.
“We need to come out in full force in the first round. We have to start off hot, not think about what happened last year, but think about what we can accomplish this year,” Avelar said.
