Cuesta Men's Basketball hosts the season-opening Hinson's Tire Pros Tournament this Friday and Saturday. This is the fifth year that the Morro Bay business has hosted the tournament, not including the cancellation of the 2020 tournament. The invitational began in 1969, the fifth year of athletics and basketball at Cuesta College. The first sponsor was MidState Bank, who also hosted a women's water polo tournament at Cuesta starting in 1999. The tournament is smaller this season, partially due to travel restrictions at certain institutions and changes to tournament rules, which no longer allow three-day, double-elimination tournaments.
This year's quad-tournament shall feature a North-South match-up. Cuesta and local rival Allan Hancock represent the South, while visiting Sequoias and Gavilan carry the banner for the North Region. Cuesta, Allan Hancock and Sequoias represent three of the eight California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) teams that were able to participate during the 2020-21 season. The Cougars and rival Bulldogs both went 2-3 in their abbreviated competition window, while Sequoias rattled off an 8-1 record, including wins over both the Cougars and the Bulldogs. Gavilan, like the other 93 teams in the CCCAA, shall be lacing up their high-tops for the first time 971 days. Sequoias enters the 2021-22 campaign where they left off last Spring. The Giants are ranked #2 in NorCal by the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association's (CCCMBCA) Pre-season Poll, which is not a surprise based on last Spring and the fact that their 2019-20 season was halted the day of their CCCAA State Championship Quarterfinal game. Gavilan despite finishing 6th in the Coast Conference South Division in 2019-20, and sitting out last Spring, has impressed the pollsters in the pre-season and enters this weekend ranked 19th in NorCal. On the Southside, Allan Hancock begins the season ranked #10 in SoCal, while the Cougars are the lone unranked team on the floor this weekend. Cuesta, like the Rams, missed the post-season in 2020, however they had reached the playoffs in nine of the previous 11 seasons.
The Bulldogs open the tournament on Friday (5 PM) against the Giants, while the Cougars take on the Rams in the nightcap (7 PM). Everyone will switch partners and start earlier on the second day. Allan Hancock faces Gavilan (3 PM) and Cuesta battles Sequoias in the tournament finale (5 PM).
Cuesta College's Covid-19 Protocols are located here- https://cuestaathletics.com/general/2021-22/releases/20211006p6tfyp
