McAllen and Vela are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2014, but not for long. The McAllen Bulldogs will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Vela Sabercats at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, McAllen was able to grind out a solid win over Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial, taking the game 50-41. Given McAllen's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 451st, while Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial is ranked 1162nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Vela has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten matches by 20 points or more this season. They claimed a resounding 83-43 win over Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North at home. The win was nothing new for Vela as they're now sitting on four straight.
Vela's win on Friday was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ej Avelar, who scored 20 points along with three steals. Avelar has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Axel Garza, who scored 11 points along with six steals and five rebounds.
The victory makes it two in a row for McAllen and bumps their season record up to 10-8. As for Vela, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season.
McAllen came up short against Vela in their previous matchup back in January, falling 54-42. Can McAllen avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
