Tijuana Zonkeys start playoffs with dominant win against Jalisco
Credit: Zonkeys
The CIBACOPA Mexican basketball playoffs are in full swing, and the Tijuana Zonkeys had a very nice start the postseason.
Los Burro-Zebras defeated Gigantes de Jalisco 84-69 at the Auditorio Academia Zonkeys in the first game of the first round playoff series.
Tijuana was led by the efforts of San Diego native Richard Williams Jr. as he led the team with 22 points along with 10 rebounds and four assists. Williams was tied for the most assists with Karim Rodriguez, while Mychal Ammons and Fabian Jaimes led the Zonkeys in rebounds with 11.
Ishmael Paz and Jorge Casillas led Gigantes de Jalisco with 19 points each, but the visiting team did underperform in the rebounding department. All of the Zonkeys playoff games will be played at the new Auditorio Academia Zonkeys, and the border city team will have the home-field advantage for Game 2, before the series shifts to Guadalajara.
The Zonkeys came away with the sizeable victory, but there are plenty of concerns heading into the second game of the series.
While Tijuana’s three-point percentage was respectable at 50 percent, the two-point percentage was lacking at just 36 percent.
Tijuana will not be able to afford to miss as many opportunities as they did in the first game, throughout the rest of the series. However, the game was still won, and this will serve as a good stepping stone for James Penny’s team before heading out to Jalisco for Game 3.
Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.