Valley All Star Basketball Players Meet at Bert Ogden Arena
La Joya’s Leo Villarreal scored a team-high 12 points and was solid under the boards as the West cruised to a 116-96 win over the East during the All-Valley high school All-star game at Bert Ogden Arena.
Hidalgo’s Lizabeth Luna scored 16 points to pace the West to a 113-71 win in the girls contest.
Villarreal and William Ashley of Alamo Macedonian, who scored 11 and had the game’s highlight with a breakaway dunk that aroused the crowd, gave the West a definite advantage on the boards, despite a pesky East team that ran, pressed and didn’t find the 3-point line to be daunting whatsoever despite being farther away than the high school arc.
“It’s a blessing to come out here and have the opportunity,” said Villarreal, who scored most of his points inside but also buried a three-pointer. “It was a great feeling. I tried to play the way I do during a district game. It was just a great time, with the large crowd and all the noice.”
The West scored 34 points in the final quarter and ended the game with nine 3-pointers in the contest. The East ended with nine shots converted from the arc, led by Harlingen’s Luis Rodriguez with three straight during a third quarter stretch.
Rodriguez finished with 13 points for the East while J.J. Salazar paced all scorers with 15 points and Gio Galvan from Los Fresnos added 14.
Sharyland’s Jaden Garcia scored 11 for the West.
The West led the entire boys game, holding leads of 28-23 after the first quarter, 54-46 at the half and 82-68 after three periods.
Like the boys. Games, the West girls came outrunning and gunning, leading after one quarter 27-23 and at the half 54-46 before a 26-9 third quarter put the game out of reach.
Eleven different girls scored for the West in the third quarter, led by Edinburg Vela’s Janai Coleman with five in the period. McAllen Rowe’s Alyssa Cantu lit it up from 3-point land, knocking down four 3-pointers in the second half. Luna scored six of her points in the fourth and Edinburg High’s Emily Carranco also scored six in the final period.
Harlingen’s Abigail Garcia and teammate Amaris Martinez both scored 10 for the East.
Former UTPA scoring phenom and former all-time scoring leader for the EuroLeague, who now helps coach the RGV Vipers, coached both West teams to victory.
