SAN ANTONIO – The St. Anthony boys’ basketball team (35-7) is one of four schools from the San Antonio area alive and battling for a TAPPS state championship.
During the regular season, the Mighty Yellowjackets went unbeaten in the TAPPS 5A District 3 competition and rolled into the postseason, fueled by their four-senior starting lineup.
In order to end their high school careers as champions, St. Anthony locked in over the summer and never looked back.
“From the beginning of the year, in like September, we talked about it,” said St. Anthony third-year head coach PJ Escobar. “We talked about what we want to do and where we want to go, but also we talked about how we’re going to do it.”
“The thing that makes me so confident with this group is these guys have worked hard every day, they’ve taken on our coaching very well, and we talked about it — their moment’s going to come — and now that the moment is here, I think these guys are ready.”
The Yellowjackets beat their first two opponents in the TAPPS 5A tournament by a 49-point margin, largely thanks to sharpshooter Tommy Adams.
Adams and the rest of the seniors are well aware of what’s at stake in Friday’s semifinal game.
“It would mean a lot,” said senior center Adams. “We’ve worked really hard for this. We know that we can do it. We’re able to achieve this goal and get there and hopefully win.”
“I have a lot of emotions, especially because these are my last two games coming up,” said senior point guard Drew Cristian. “I really want to go out there and give it all I’ve got. Especially for my coaches. They’ve done so much for me and my dad.”
St. Anthony will tip off against Second Baptist School out of Houston this Friday in Waco.
If the Yellowjackets win, they’ll play for the TAPPS 5A championship the following night.
Read more reporting and watch highlights and full games on the Big Game Coverage page.
