Pirates basketball breaks throughto Area championship game

Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports Editor
The Lytle Pirates stellar season ended in the Area championship game against Poth, 54-69. The Pirates had a brilliant season, holding the second seed in district with a record of 11-3. This squad was a combination of speed and skill on offense while competing hard on defense every single night. Even though they had their go-to scoring options, every player on team would not hesitate to pass up a good shot for a better one for their teammate.
“Some nights the ball doesn’t bounce your way. We missed quite a few shots and couldn’t quite find our offensive rhythm early,” Head coach Arturo Vela said. “I felt like shots finally started falling a little too late, but our defensive effort kept us in position.”
Before their final game against Poth, Lytle had thrilling first round rematch against Great Hearts Northern Oaks High School, who bounced the Pirates out of the playoffs last year. The Pirates won that game 62-60 after Great Hearts surged back late in the game.
“We had the opportunity to compete in front of a big crowd, and more importantly, come together and stay together to secure the win,” Vela said. “Greater Hearts did a great job adjusting in the 4th quarter, and our guys responded the right way.”
Vela said the goal for this season was to play fast on the defensive end with an emphasis on ball pressure and controlled on the offensive end. What has elated him about this philosophy is that everyone from 7th grade to the seniors have held up that standard.
“Throughout the season, our focus was to improve defensively by pressuring the ball and to execute our offense with discipline. As the season progressed, I truly felt we grew on both ends,” Vela said. “More importantly, I felt we matured through pressure situations. We became the team that forced others to adjust to us, especially with our full-court pressure.”
Breakthrough. That would be the word Vela would use to describe the season. He expressed the challenges that came with being a first year head coach and how the early losses in the season fostered doubt in their minds. However, Lytle embraced the trials ahead of them because they knew the tough times would make them better as a team.
“Once we began to see the vision of where we wanted this team to be, and started stacking wins, everything slowly began coming together — from our coaching staff to our players,” Vela said.
To close out the season, Vela expressed his appreciation for the community who have been “incredible all year.”
“The mayor and our AD, Lori Wilson, made sure we had everything we needed and that Pirate Pride was felt everywhere we went,” Vela said. “To my seniors — thank you for helping create, mold, and shape the foundation of the culture I’m building here in Lytle. I appreciate the five of you for always protecting the ship.”