EDINBURG — The Edinburg Vela SaberCats’ road to this year’s District 31-6A title was fueled by last season’s shortcomings. The SaberCats finished the 2021 campaign as the No. 6 seed in 31-6A and outside of the playoffs looking in.
The SaberCats responded with a 29-7 overall record in 2022 and raised the District 31-6A championship after a 15-1 run through league play.
“These guys right here, since last year, they told themselves they’re going to be fueled by pain. They were up to the task, up to the challenge and willing to do whatever it takes to be at the position they’re in now,” Edinburg Vela head coach Lucio Rodriguez said. “We returned a lot of our minutes, the majority of our points, so experience was a big factor.”
“We used last year as motivation for this year,” senior guard Aidan Avelar said. “We didn’t like that feeling and we wanted to prove last year was a fluke and it wasn’t us, and I think we did a pretty good job of doing that.”
After a one-year absence from the postseason, the SaberCats are set to host Brownsville Hanna (18-16, 7-7) in a Region IV-6A bi-district playoff matchup at 7 p.m. Monday at Edinburg Vela High School.
The SaberCats trot out a balanced, deep unit that has often overwhelmed opponents with a fast-paced, unselfish offense and a pestering defense. While senior guards Avelar and Tony Requena lead Edinburg Vela in scoring with 11.6 points per game, the SaberCats have had nine different players finish as the team’s leading scorer throughout the season.
“I believe it shows we’re a complete team. Not only our starting five, it goes all the way to the 15th guy,” Requena said. “We have the skill, so I really think teams are going to have trouble preparing for us because our bench can step in and elevate our team.”
“I think if a team would try to focus on one of us, anybody else could have a good night, and that’s what makes us very scary as a team, I think,” said senior post Jacob Rodriguez.
Edinburg Vela’s last trip to the postseason during the 2020 season ended with a trip to the regional semifinals and a third round playoff matchup against Los Fresnos at Bert Ogden Arena. While the SaberCats dropped that contest, this year’s seniors were sophomores on that squad who hope to use their experience to lead this year’s team into the postseason.
“This year, we knew we could do this. We’re expecting to make a run and that’s our goal,” Requena said.
