2023 APS Metro Boys Basketball Tournament Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The APS Metro Basketball Championships are played every season to start the New Year in January. This is the largest mid-season tournament in New Mexico consisting of sixteen teams. This event is from Tuesday January 3rd to Saturday January 7th. In years past, the Metro Tournament consisted of teams mostly in the Metro Area. This year's Metro Tournament has new teams participating in this event. Before the start of the tournament, we will preview each First Round Matchup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Volcano Vista (11-0) vs Albuquerque (3-7) at 5:30pm on Tuesday, January 3rd.</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Volcano Vista Hawks won the 2022 Metro Tournament championship last year vs Atrisco Heritage. They will start their Metro Title defense vs Albuquerque. The Hawks will be led by their big men; [player_tooltip player_id='1176300' first='Kenyon' last='Aguino'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1124213' first='Sean' last='Alter']. They will dominate the paint on both sides of the floor with their scoring, rebounding and interior defense down low. They will also get contributions from [player_tooltip player_id='1176305' first='Hudson' last='Brown'], [player_tooltip player_id='1678037' first='Anthony' last='Gonzales'] and David Gutierez who can space the floor with their three-point shooting and cause havoc on defense. The Hawks will be the favorites to win this tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Rio Rancho (8-4) vs La Cueva (7-2) at 7:15pm on Tuesday, January 3rd. </strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both the Rio Rancho Rams and the La Cueva Bears come into the 2023 Metro Tournament winning four straight games to close out 2022. The Bears won the Las Cruces Holiday Hoopla Tournament while the Rams won the Jalene Berger Allstate Holiday Hoops Tournament. The Rams will be led by their Star Forward, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1295235' first='Jayden' last='Johnson']</strong>. He is averaging an impressive 15.0 ppg &amp; 5.3 rpg for the Rams. Meanwhile, the Bears have one of the most balanced scoring attacks in New Mexico with four players averaging double-figures this season. [player_tooltip player_id='1076705' first='Cedarius' last='Yates'] is averaging 15.3 ppg &amp; 7.4 rpg, [player_tooltip player_id='1076711' first='Isaiah' last='Denetclaw'] is averaging 12.1 ppg, [player_tooltip player_id='1176302' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] is averaging 11.6 ppg and [player_tooltip player_id='1176299' first='Daniel' last='Lovato'] is averaging 11.4 ppg &amp; 8.2 rpg. It's a pick your poison type of battle with La Cueva because it could be any of these four players nights offensively. Thats what makes the Bears dangerous because of the team basketball that is played, and if they're all involved, makes them that much scarier. If the Bears win this matchup, it will set them up for a rematch vs Volcano Vista, in the Metro Quarterfinals. The Bears and Hawks previously met earlier this season on Wednesday December 7th, and gave the undefeated Hawks their toughest matchup of the season losing by just three, 60-57. Is a potential rematch in store and an upset on the way? Will the La Cueva Bears send a message to the rest of the state? Coming into the season, many around the community wrote off the Bears and this could be their opportunity to silence their doubters. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>West Mesa (7-3) vs Hobbs (7-5) at 5:30pm on Tuesday, January 3rd. </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The West Mesa Mustangs and Hobbs Eagles faceoff in one of the best matchups in the opening round of the Metro Tournament. The Eagles will be making their official debut in the Metro Tournament being one of the newest additions this year. The Mustangs will be led by their Starting Five; [player_tooltip player_id='1678076' first='Donovan' last='Cruz'], Brandon Lagunas, [player_tooltip player_id='1076703' first='Sonny' last='Ortiz'], [player_tooltip player_id='1124238' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] and Torrance Burdex who have all taken turns offensively. Any of these players can lead the Mustangs in scoring on any given night. Each of these five have hit some big shots this season and have played in some big games already which should've prepared them for a tournament like this. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Eldorado (7-3) vs Del Norte (7-3) at 7:15pm on Tuesday, January 3rd. </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This a 5A/4A First Round Matchup in the Metro Tournament. Both teams come into this contest with a 7-3 record and have had a solid start to the season so far. The spotlight in this matchup will be centered on the two stars from each team: [player_tooltip player_id='1076702' first='Shane' last='Douma-Sanchez'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1362491' first='Caileb' last='Parham']. [player_tooltip player_id='1076702' first='Shane' last='Douma-Sanchez'] is the state's leading scorer averaging 31.6 points per game which is 13th in the nation. [player_tooltip player_id='1362491' first='Caileb' last='Parham'] is having a nice season of his own, leading the Eagles in scoring and winning their last four games. It will fun seeing two of the state's most competitive players go at each other. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cleveland (9-2) vs Hope Christian (5-4) at 5:30pm on Tuesday, January 3rd.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cleveland Storm made it to the final four in last year's Metro Tournament and Hope Christian Huskies are making their first appearance this year. The Huskies will be led by their Star Forward, [player_tooltip player_id='1293133' first='Jett' last='Wyckoff'] who leads their team in scoring and rebounding. The Storm is led by one of the state's top duos; [player_tooltip player_id='1158654' first='Daniel' last='Steverson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1326930' first='Remy' last='Albrecht']. Daniel is averaging 23.8 ppg &amp; 5.0 rpg while [player_tooltip player_id='1326930' first='Remy' last='Albrecht'] averages 17.8 ppg and 2.8 spg. They're one of the state's highest scoring backcourts and help the Storm make a serious run in this year's tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Highland (7-3) vs Manzano (4-5) at 7:15 pm on Tuesday, January 3rd.</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Highland Hornets are finally back at full strength and come into this tournament as a team that can give anyone problems. Their defense and three-point shooting are just as good as anyone's in this tournament. Keep your eyes on Highland's [player_tooltip player_id='1485758' first='Alexis' last='Dominguez'] who is averaging 20.9 ppg for the Hornets. For the Manzano Monarch's, [player_tooltip player_id='1360185' first='Nick' last='Dial'] will lead the way averaging 18.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg. He will need to have a huge performance and huge contributions from his teammates to knock off the defending 4A State Champions. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Atrisco Heritage (10-1) vs Santa Fe (6-4) at 5:30pm on Tuesday, January 3rd.</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars come into this year's Metro Tournament as one of the favorites to win the championship. Last year, the Jaguars reached the Metro Championship game before losing to Volcano Vista. They will be led by [player_tooltip player_id='1076722' first='Chris' last='Parra'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1176301' first='Latavious' last='Morris'], arguably the state's best backcourt duo. If these two continue their high play and get strong contributions from the others, it's easy to see Atrisco Heritage as the team raising the blue trophy. The Santa Fe Demons will have their hands full on Tuesday Night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Sandia (8-2) vs Cibola (2-9) at 7:15pm on Tuesday, January 3rd.</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sandia Matadors haven't played in almost two weeks while the Cibola Cougars lost their last game last week vs West Mesa. Cibola will be led by [player_tooltip player_id='1124236' first='Elijah' last='Foster'] who is averaging 15.5 ppg this season. The Matadors are one of the favorites to win this tournament and have a balanced scoring attack from their starting five. [player_tooltip player_id='1360191' first='Andrew' last='Hill'] (17.2), [player_tooltip player_id='1076710' first='Dalen' last='Moyer'] (13.9), [player_tooltip player_id='1076706' first='Ely' last='Lovato'] (13.3), [player_tooltip player_id='1687823' first='Thomas' last='Adams'] (9.9) and [player_tooltip player_id='1552945' first='Lamarion' last='Coleman'] (9.6) They are one of the state's highest scoring team's averaging 73.8 points per game. The Matadors are one of the fastest most up-tempo teams in New Mexico and if their three-point shot is on, they will shoot you out the gym. The only two teams that up well with them are the Volcano Vista Hawks and Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator -->