By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
A group of Del Rio youth took on some of best up-and-coming basketball teams in the nation this past week and came away with two wins in the four games they played.
The Del Rio Thunder, a group of sixth and seventh grade boys from this area, traveled to South Carolina this past week to compete in the National Travel Basketball Association National Championships in Myrtle Beach.
Players on the team included Laron Bryant, Leonel Cavazos, Ethan Dobbins, Julian Dominguez, Jayden Gutierrez, Jordan Gutierrez, Ethan Jurado, Zachary Palazuelos, Trent Serwatka and Jonathan Treviño. Coaches were Leo Cavazos, David Deleon and Michael Palazuelos.
Del Rio opened the tournament in pool play and picked up a win in its first game Tuesday, 47-38, over the Palmetto City Hurricanes from Blythwood, S.C.
The second game for Del Rio was a 60-42 victory over EOTO 7th – Jimmy from Duluth, Ga.
In the final game of pool play, Del Rio came up short against The Un1T from New Jersey, 76-49. With a pool play record of 2-1, however, Del Rio was able to qualify for bracket play, which began Friday.
The bracket portion of the tournament wasn’t so kind to Del Rio’s squad as they fell to a team from Atlanta, 47-25.
Despite the loss, the opportunity to play in the tournament was a positive win for the Thunder, as expressed by a post on the team’s official Facebook page.
“We are very proud of these boys competing against some of the best teams from the east coast. A different style of play, for sure. We didn’t get the win but the exposure, the experience and going 2-2 was great for the boys. The experience acquired was awesome for their development. It was a great learning experience for our coaches too. We are looking forward to participating in more national tournaments in the future. Keeping Thunder strong!!! Now back to Texas to continue the hard work!!! A huge ‘thank you’ to all our sponsors who made this happen for our team. They definitely did not disappoint with their performance,” read the post.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
