Tijuana Zonkeys Split Fourth Consecutive Series, Fail to Sweep Mazatlan
Tijuana, Mexico
The Tijuana Zonkeys finished up a two-game series against Nauticos de Mazatlan at the Auditorio Municipal de Tijuana on Wednesday. The two-game set ran from Tuesday, May 8 to Wednesday, May 9 and was really a missed opportunity to close the gap on first-place Rayos de Hermosillo.
Los Burro-Zebras are now winless in their last four series as they have split series against Guasave, Culiacan, Navolato, and now Mazatlan. The border city side is still among the best teams in the CIBACOPA Mexican Basketball League, currently in second place with a 12-7 record.
The first game of the series on Tuesday night ended 93-88 in Mazatlan’s favor as the team was led by team captain Michael Lizarraga, who is also the only deaf player in league history. The 29-year-old netted himself 19 points along with four rebounds and three assists.
Carl Hall was another important figure for the visitors as he netted 23 points, which was the highest of any player on the day. The Zonkeys’ top scorer was Gary Mondragon with 18 points, but Luis “Chupa” Ramirez was not far behind with 17 points.
The second game of the series was a completely different affair than the first one as Tijuana salvaged the series with a 95-86 win. Michael Lizarraga slowed down a bit with only 14 points, but Carl Hall stayed consistent and netted himself 22 points.
The Striped Donkeys were led by Mychal Ammons, who led the team in points with 20, rebounds with 11, and assists with five. Chula Vista native Carlos Perez was not great in the first game of the series, but he bounced back on Wednesday night with 19 points.
San Diego native Karim Rodriguez only managed to get 11 points in the second game of the series and had a pretty subpar series overall. Three-point accuracy from the Zonkeys in both games was not the best and is an area that needs to improve moving forward.
The Zonkeys are still in second place in the CIBACOPA, but could fall further down the table if they continue to split these two-game series. Tijuana now embarks on a three-game road trip this weekend to face Aguilas Doradas de Durango before coming back home to host Ostioneros de Guaymas.
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.
