BASKETBALL BROTHERS
Cousins Mendez, Brito developed bond on court
The family reunions took place every year at the same time and location – early September, Colt State Park.
The barbecue was nice, so too was catching up with folks who you might have gone an entire calendar year without seeing. For two of the area’s top boys basketball players who are both seniors, the family outing represented the perfect opportunity to gauge who’s made strides since the previous year’s family reunion.
Finish your hot dog or burger and locate the basketball. See you on the court in 10 minutes? Sounds good to me.
Technically, Xavier Mendez and Octavio Brito are second cousins. Their mothers – Alexandra (Brito) and Anny (Mendez) – are first cousins.
“We grew a bond where we consider ourselves first cousins,” said Mendez, part of a Blackstone Valley Prep program that Saturday at noon faces Times 2 Academy with the Division III championship on the line at Rhode Island College.
Brito already has his D-III title. The special moment came last March during his junior season at Lincoln High. On the ride back from CCRI-Warwick to Lincoln, Brito fielded a congratulatory call from cousin Xavier.
“I told him happy birthday and great job,” said Mendez during a Zoom call with Brito this past Thursday.
Brito turns 18 on Monday, the same day as the first anniversary of Lincoln’s title. While he can’t physically be present to see if Mendez can join him in the championship club, he plans to keep close tabs.
“Maybe I’ll even show up outside RIC,” said Brito.
Such plans reveal the depth of a bond that both would probably contend trends more towards characteristics more associated with siblings than cousins.
“Little cuz,” noted Mendez, who’s 19.
For Brito, the 1-on-1 games at the family reunion were brutal. Mendez was bigger and stronger. He bullied his way to the basket and Brito was powerless to stop it.
“He had the upper hand at first,” said Brito. “It was because he was always taller.”
Today, Brito stands at 6-foot-4 – an inch shorter than Mendez. From those bruising sessions at Colt State Park, Brito figured out ways to improve his on-court craft that would help him to fight fire-with-fire with Mendez.
“I think I’m better now since junior year,” said Brito, words that yielded a “whoa, whoa” from Mendez.
“He helped me in so many ways,” Brito went on to say. “I got used to playing against taller people because of him.”
“He kind of snuck up on me,” said Mendez, a nod to the improvements made by his cousin.
If you say that Brito is the better shooter of the two, Mendez will contend, “Don’t leave me in the corner.”
They say competition is healthy, and that appears to be the case with Brito and Mendez.
“We pushed each other to get to the point we’re at right now,” said Mendez
Brito lived in Pawtucket until he was nine. Mendez still lives in Pawtucket. Both claim to be just as cutthroat in video games as they are in basketball. We’re talking hours spent talking into headsets with the Xbox console alternating between Madden and NBA2K.
One of the top sports debates between the cousins involves a what-if scenario. Mendez likes to contend that if Blackstone Valley Prep reached last year’s Division III finals, the Pride would have taken down Brito and his Lions.
In this argument, Brito holds the ultimate
trump card. In a regular-season meeting on January 24, 2020, Brito and the Lions easily handled Mendez and the Pride, 64-45. It was a high-stakes game with the two teams sporting identical undefeated records in league play (8-0).
Brito started clapping immediately upon the mentioning of the aforementioned 19-point margin of victory. Both claim they tuned the decibel down as far as trash-talking going into the clash of D-III unbeatens.
“Both ways, we were ready for each other,” said Mendez.
“We talk about that game all the time, at least I do,” said Brito.
Another hypothetical that’s fun to talk about involves what would have taken place had Brito and Mendez wore the same color jersey for the same Interscholastic League team.
“We’ve always said that if we were on the same high school team, we’d be the best duo in the state,” said Mendez.
Added Brito, “We would have gone undefeated.”
Last summer, Brito and Mendez joined forces on the same AAU program – the R.I. Knights. Save for pickup games, the grassroots experience marked the first time they could call the other his teammate.
“It was fun. You knew what the other could do,” said Mendez. “It was like, ‘I got you.’”
“The chemistry was already there,” said Brito.
Mendez is proud of how far Brito has come. Two years ago as a sophomore, Brito played sparingly for Lincoln. Already a champion, he figures to merit all-state consideration for the second straight year.
“I was very happy for him. To see him perform the way he did, it was great to see,” said Mendez.
Plaudits were reciprocated when Brito talked about his cousin – someone who’s registered over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his BVP career.
“He definitely earned it this year,” said Brito. “He’s being a leader and taking charge.”
Competitive nature aside, Brito says it would be great if Mendez can snag the same Division III brass ring that he did. After all, why not keep it in the family?
“It would be cool to see,” said Brito about a championship kinship he hopes to share with cousin Xavier.