Alamo Cougars basketball team hungry for playoff run

Lemuel Guerro has been the head coach for boys basketball at Alamo for five years and started his coaching career as the junior high coach 10 years ago. He is also an Alamo graduate himself and even played basketball for the Cougars. 

His experience with the school, community and basketball have allowed him to shape a team that earned winning records in all but his first year as head coach, plus winning two district championships and a second place finish in district.

“Just being together is a strength of the team, that's part of doing a program where you have to have a bond,” Lemuel Guerro said for his team that has great teamwork and communication.

The Alamo Cougars are off to a solid start to this season as well. They currently have a 6-3 record which includes a win over Magdalena, their first time doing so since 2001. Two of their three losses were within four points, meaning they have been competitive in all games so far this season.

Lemuel Guerro also mentioned the general size and strength of some of his players as one of the strengths of the team. They have some big guys who can really move things around inside the paint. 

“I would like to give a lot of shout outs to our seniors. We have three seniors on the team,” Lemuel Guerro said of Andy Pino, Scotty Guerro and Zephaniah Guerro. “They've been playing since freshman on varsity. They're also hungry for this season. They want to do their best. They want to go further.”

“My goal, our goal for this season, is to go far, as far as we can,” Lemuel Guerro said.

In the past three postseasons, the Cougars only made as far as round two in two of the years. Last year they took a loss in the first round of the playoffs. Zone defense is a current weakness that the Cougars will be working to improve upon to help them reach their goals.

“[We] want to go beyond that, we have a chance, but at the same time, I want to be humble,” Lemuel Guerro said.

The Cougars were 21-8 overall last year, and they were second in Class A District 3 with a 6-2 record. They lost to Cimarron last year in the state playoffs.

Roster:

#1 Cobre Mexicano, junior

#2 Raymond Apachito, sophomore

#3 Zephyr Apachito, freshman

#4 Pherrell Herrera, sophomore

#12 Nahum Apachito, sophomore

#14 Tilial Secatero, junior

#20 Tobias Sandoval, freshman

#23 Scotty Guerro, senior

#24 Azakiah Marthell, freshman

#32 Andy Pino, senior

#33 Zephaniah Guerro, senior, captain

Assistant Coach Obed Torres