Tijuana Zonkeys Win First Series Of 2018 Against Aguilas Doradas de Durango
Credit: Zonkeys
The Tijuana Zonkeys just finished up their first series of the 2018 CIBACOPA Mexican basketball season against Aguilas Doradas de Durango.
The border city side took the series two games to one at the Auditorio Municipal de Tijuana for a good start to the new season. Some of the team’s new players, like Mychal Ammons and Gary Mondragon, seem to be adapting well with some of the fan favorites like Trayvon Lathan, Karim Rodriguez, and Luis Ramirez.
Tijuana won the opening game of the tournament 90-80 in front of the best crowd the auditorium will see all year. James Penny’s team then suffered an 86-78 loss in the second game of the series, but came back in the third game with a dominant 106-91 win.
The three-point game was really on point for the Zonkeys in the final game of the series, and that really made an impact on the result. Los Burro-Zebras were collectively 13-for-22 from long range, with the standouts being Karim Rodriguez and Gary Mondragon, who scored three three-pointers each, and Julio Cesar Martin Del Campo, who netted four from range.
Gary Mondragon kept his consistency in the final game with 19 points, his lowest point total of the series being 16 in Game 2. Mondragon also had six assists and led the team in that department for the second consecutive game. San Diego native Karim Rodriguez was great in Game 3 as well as he netted 23 points with five assists and was lethal from long range as mentioned before.
CIBACOPA rules make it obligatory for a player 21 years old or younger to play in the second period of the game. It seems like head coach James Penny has entrusted Omar Miramontes with this role as he played him in all three games of the opening series.
Mychal Ammons was the top scorer from the third game of the series with 24 points and had a very solid series overall. The Maryland native talked to EVT about the performance from the final game of the series and said, “We bounced back from last night’s showing. Showed them that we can play better. We got the ball moving, they didn’t kill us on the glass as bad as they did last night and we just want to keep on getting better.”
Gary Mondragon nets a three for the first points of the game. @ZonkeysOficial @cibacopaoficial pic.twitter.com/AvqnPbgTGI
— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) April 8, 2018
The Striped Donkeys will now embark on a four-game road trip to face Ostioneros de Guaymas and Rayos de Hermosillo before returning to Tijuana on April 17 to host Los Mochis.
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.