The Inferno Invitational is a tournament hosted by Sunnyside High School that lasted Monday through Wednesday of last week.
A total of 20 high schools all over the Tucson area went to Sunnyside and played basketball all day, starting in the early morning until the last game in the night.
I went along with fellow journalists Andy and Javier Morales to the event.
We interviewed players and coaches, trying to highlight their perspectives.
One coach was Sahuaro’s Steve Botkin and another was Sunnyside’s Justin Delgado, who won his 100th game as a head coach when the Blue Devils defeated Nogales 45-33 on Wednesday in the championship game.
A student interviewed was Flowing Wells’ Nevaeh Urenda.
They shared their perspectives of the Inferno Invitational and what it’s like to start the new season at the tournament.
Delgado’s point of view:
https://t.co/CUU6F3Gak1 intern @OliverQuebecois (a Sunnyside senior) and I interview @LadyDevil_Hoops @CoachDelgado012 after the Blue Devils’ 62-35 win over Queen Creek in the Inferno Invitational at Sunnyside. Delgado, in his fifth season at Sunnyside, has worked wonders with… pic.twitter.com/1a7UT9zsQ1
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 26, 2024
When Delgado was asked about his experience as a coach, he said, “It’s a very intense lifestyle, especially on the wife and the family lifestyle. It can be very tough. You don’t do it for a paycheck, obviously. You do it for the love of the game and to teach youth and to have fun. I enjoy my time with all of these girls. That’s the reason why I do it, to see the different life-lessons they learn through basketball.”
He also said it’s gratifying because teams learn by trying to reach their goals.
Delgado said he tells his players, “focus on the things you can control, and you will be fine.”
That’s the truth. If you focus on things that you can control, you will make the situation go how you want.
Botkin’s point of view:
Botkin stressed that his team must play good defense. He added his team must be prepared for what opponents do to throw it off.
He also explains how since it was is early in the season, the players are adapting to playing with each other.
Sahuaro played without injured forward Biale Sika in the tournament.
Botkin pointed out that some of the other players were picking up the slack scoring and rebounding.
He also gave some great advice saying kids play better when they are subjected to a higher skill level of opponents. It can help them improve faster and make them realize what mistakes they must work on.
.@SahuaroHoops coach Steve Botkin’s team won its first two games of the Inferno Invitational at Sunnyside, beating Baboquivari 54-27 and St. David 49-23. The Cougars were without injured forward Biale Sika, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Players such as Harmony Tuito… pic.twitter.com/GeE7lTEAc1
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 26, 2024
Urenda’s point of view:
Urenda said that she is grateful that her teammates trusted her with the ball enabling her to score 29 points, 16 of them in the fourth quarter, in a win over Snowflake. She talked about her team showing some tough love by keeping each other accountable. She said that would help her team a lot.
Flowing Wells beat Snowflake 52-45 behind senior guard Neveah Urenda’s 29 points to advance to the Inferno Invitational semifinals against Sunnyside tonight at 7. Urenda had 16 of her points in the fourth quarter to help the Lady Cabs pull away against Snowflake. pic.twitter.com/aQfeowJYn2
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 26, 2024
Oliver is an intern for AllSportsTucson.com who is a senior at Sunnyside High School. He aspires to be a sports journalist.
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