Jesus Zorrilla, head coach of the Camp Verde recreational men’s basketball team Suddenlink, believes in family overcoming old team bonds for the Yavapai-Apache Nation league championship Wednesday, July 8.
“We can hang with any of these teams and definitely do some damage,” said Zorrilla, who, at 6 feet, 2 inches tall, is Suddenlink’s biggest man. “Last year, a couple of games were buzzer-beaters. It burns, you know?”
Zorrilla, along with brother Francisco and nephew Javier Perez, leads fifth-place Suddenlink in scoring as they open their postseason against higher-seed Legacy at 6 p.m. Monday, July 6.
Perez’s Camp Verde High School teammates Reyes and Thomas Herrera play for Legacy, which finished fourth out of 10 teams in the two-month regular season.
“Last year, we got fourth [place], but each year we seem to get a little better,” Zorrilla said. “Our conditioning is better this year. We’re more together; we’re starting to find each other more.”
Zorrilla, who plays with just seven other players not only in games but twice a week in full-court, four-on-four scrimmages, hopes it doesn’t come to that against Cottonwood Auto Body, the top team in the league.
Regardless of the outcome of their make-up game Monday, June 29, if they can both make it through their quarterfinal games Monday, July 6, the teams will face off in the semifinals.
For the full story and playoff schedule, please see the Wednesday, July 1, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
