By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
It’s been several years since Del Rio hosted a major high school basketball tournament.
That streak comes to an end this weekend with the arrival of the inaugural Wings and Rings Classic at Del Rio High School.
Fifteen boys’ basketball teams are scheduled to take part in the three-day event. Pool play began Thursday with bracket play beginning Friday and the championship games scheduled for Saturday.
Del Rio Rams head coach Joe Nieto knows all about playing in big tournaments at Del Rio High. As a high schooler, Nieto and his teammates played in the highly competitive Big Mac Classic, which continued for several years before coming to an end.
“As for this year’s tournament, it’s exciting. It’s been fun to be a part of the planning team and process to bring a highly competitive tournament field back to Del Rio. It’s been a few years, but the tournaments from the past, which allowed many of us to be a part of as players, coaches, and or spectators has brought us together today to offer our community the Wings and Rings Classic,” Nieto said.
Games will be played at Del Rio High School at the Carl P. Guys Memorial Gymnasium and the old Del Rio High School gym. Tournament passes are available for purchase through the GoFan app or through the link on the San Felipe Del Rio CISD’s official website under the “Athletics” section.
Pool A featured host Del Rio as well as San Antonio Holmes and San Antonio St. Anthony’s.
Pool B featured San Antonio John Jay, Kerrville Tivy and Corpus Christi Carroll.
Pool C had San Antonio Marshall, Laredo Nixon and San Antonio Edison.
Pool D was San Antonio Warren, San Antonio St. Mary’s Hall and Roma.
Pool E included San Antonio Southwest, San Antonio Churchill and Presidio.
Del Rio finished pool play 1-1. The Rams defeated Holmes but lost to San Antonio St. Anthony’s.
Games began at 9 a.m. on Thursday with the last game scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s games will begin at 9 a.m. in both gymnasiums. The last game is scheduled to tip-off at 6 p.m.
Friday’s first set of bracket games are as follows:
9 a.m. – Marshall vs Holmes (Old Gym); St. Anthony vs. CC Carroll (Guys Gym)
10:30 a.m. – John Jay vs. Edison (Guys Gym), St. Mary’s Hall vs Southwest (Old Gym)
Noon – Laredo Nixon vs. Roma (Old Gym), Kerrville Tivy vs. Del Rio (Guys Gym)
1:30 p.m. – Warren vs. Presidio (Guys Gym)
Churchill drew a bye and won’t play until 4:30 p.m. in Guys Gym against the winner of the Warren/Presidio game.
Saturday, games begin at 8 a.m. The third-place game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. in the old gym. The championship game is set for 2 p.m. in the Carl P. Guys Memorial Gymnasium.
“The text messages, phone calls, and in person conversations with members of our community makes me realize Del Rio is just as excited to have a basketball event of this caliber back in town. We’d like to invite the community out to Del Rio High School for three action-packed days of basketball, as you support your Rams basketball team,” Nieto added
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
