MISSION — North Mission IDEA’s basketball program may be in its first year of competing at the UIL level, but the Warriors have proven they can play with anyone.
North Mission stands atop the District 31-3A standings with a 15-0 district record and 17-3 overall with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
The Warriors’ strong season didn’t happen by luck, and they’re certainly not an overnight success. The process started during the 2016-17 campaign.
During those early years of North Mission IDEA, the Warriors competed in the Texas Charter School Academic & Athletic League (TCSAAL). Boys basketball coach Isai Cabrera and athletic coordinator David Irizarry decided their group of seventh-graders would compete against eighth-graders. Two years later, when those seventh-graders were freshman, they competed in the TCSAAL’s varsity level against juniors and seniors.
Now that North Mission IDEA has made the jump from charter school league to UIL play, the Warriors are reaping the rewards.
“From seventh grade to eighth and ninth, we poured in time, blood, sweat and tears. During the summers, during holidays, just focusing on the long term, to get to where we’re at now,” Cabrera said. “The time, the effort from parents, players, coaches and administration, that’s why we’ve been successful this year. “
That initial group of seventh-graders are now juniors, and along with their teammates, have put the Warriors in the playoffs in UIL debut.
“It’s understood, IDEA isn’t known for sports, so we were excited for the challenge to put IDEA on the map in basketball,” Cabrera said.
The Warriors are riding a 15-game winning streak and have yet to taste defeat in District 31-3A play.
“Coming into the UIL and dominating, it’s a great feeling. It’s been tough but it’s been a really good experience for us,” sophomore wing Raul Bejarano said.
And it all starts with defense.
North Mission junior guard Michael Macias, who has been with the program since seventh grade, serves as the Warriors’ team captain and defensive stopper.
Earlier this week in a pivotal game against Monte Alto, Cabrera decided to put Macias on the Blue Devils’ best player and apply full-court pressure from start to finish.
Macias allowed just four points and not a single 3-point attempt as a result.
“I take a lot of pride in my defense, more than my offense. I’ve been an offensive player through the years. I take more pride in my defense now,” Macias said. “They (opposing players) talk, but I don’t let them get to my head. I play my own game and I play the defense I need to play.”
Holding things down in the paint is a pair of towering juniors in 6-foot-5 Alfonso Palmeros and 6-foot-4 Adrian Garcia.
“We know we’re the biggest guys on the court, but we also feel like we’re quick and have some power, so we can get up there. The paint is our area and we’re not going to let anybody into our home,” Garcia said.
Palmeros has been the top shot-blocker across the RGV this season and the junior leads the category with 5.1 blocks per game. He’s also averaging a double-double in district play, and averages 14.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists overall.
“I think I get lucky,” Palmeros said of his blocks. “My opponents just put the ball there and I just slap it away. I spend most of the game on the block and I love my position. I get the rebounds and set my teammates up.”
“He’s very talented when it comes to blocking shots. The majority of times he’s not jumping to block a shot because he’s timing it really well,” Cabrera said of Palmeros. “Then our other big man Adrian is as strong as an ox.”
On the other end of the floor, it could be any one of the Warriors to step up and lead the team in scoring any night.
In a district game Dec. 11 against Edinburg Vanguard Academy, it just so happened to be sophomore twins Manuel (21.3 ppg) and Raul Bejarano (13.9 ppg). Manuel and Raul combined to score 84 points, exactly 42 apiece, in a 113-22 victory. More impressive is that North Mission played the game with four players.
“It was a pretty good experience because we were connecting most of the game. We were just passing to each other, screening for each other, and scoring,” Manuel said. “It was a fun game.”
With two games remaining in the regular season, the Warriors plan to keep their foot on the gas pedal before embarking on their first UIL playoff run.
“We put our head down. We trusted the process that we’ve been doing since seventh grade. We knew we were talented. We knew we work hard, so we were just betting ourselves,” Cabrera said. “We’re going to do our thing. These are our expectations, and now we’re here.”
Next up for North IDEA Mission is another District 31-3A matchup against playoff bound Lyford (15-5, 12-4) at 6:30 tonight in Lyford.
