The city’s coaches, Wally Salata, left, of Rio Rancho High School, and Sean Jimenez of Cleveland High, won’t be masked Tuesday, as they were during the pandemic. (Herron photo)
The first of at least two meetings between the City of Vision’s boys’ and girls’ basketball team take place this week, and – as usual – they’re important games in the District 1-5A standings.
- On Tuesday, the boys’ teams tip off at 7 in Cleveland High’s Thunderdome.
All-time, the first-place Storm (16-5, 3-0 in 1-5A) have a 26-15 record vs. the Rams (14-6, 2-1).
Until RRHS coach Wally Salata won his 300th career game last Feb. 18 at Cleveland, the Storm had won 12 in a row vs. the Rams. The Rams then beat the Storm, 71-57, in the District 1-5A tournament and thus have a two-game winning streak over what RRHS fans call Rio North.
- On Wednesday, also at 7, the city’s girls’ teams square off in the Rams Athletic Center at RRHS.
All-time, the Storm (13-8, 2-1) have won 21 of the teams’ 38 get-togethers; CHS won the first nine times the teams met (2009-13). Cleveland has won six of the last 10.
The Rams (10-10, 2-1) won both meetings last season, then-coach Scott Peterson’s final season at RRHS. RRHS has a game at non-district foe Los Alamos today, Jan. 30.
The teams’ final regular-season meetings are over a two-night span in February: The boys meet Thursday, Feb. 16 at RRHS; the girls clash the next evening at CHS.
Those games are the final games of the regular season, with the District 1-5A tournament starting the following week.
