Mantarrayas de La Paz

The Mantarrayas de La Paz (English: La Paz Manta Rays) are a Mexican professional basketball team based in La Paz, Baja California Sur. The Mantarrayas are members of the Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacífico (CIBACOPA) and play their games in the Arena La Paz.

Mantarrayas de La Paz
Mantarrayas de La Paz logo
LeagueCIBACOPA
Founded11 September 2018 (11 September 2018)
HistoryMantarrayas de La Paz
(2019–present)
ArenaArena La Paz
Capacity1,700
LocationLa Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Team colorsBlue, black and orange
     
PresidentPedro Solana Martínez[1]
Championships0

They were one of three professional sports teams in Baja California Sur to start playing in 2019, along with La Paz F.C. in the Liga Premier de México and Delfines de La Paz in the Liga Norte de México.[2]

History

The Lobos Marinos de La Paz (English: La Paz Sea Lions) represented the city in the original incarnation of the CIBACOPA in the 1980s and 90s.[3] When the league was revived in 2001, they were one of the eight founding members.[4] However, the team folded after only a few seasons due to financial difficulties. In March 2017, the previous season's CIBACOPA champions, Náuticos de Mazatlán, played an exhibition game in La Paz against a local team as part of their Gira del Campeón (Champion's Tour).[5] The game took place at the Manuel Gómez Jiménez court, former home of the Lobos Marinos, with the Náuticos winning 93–56.[6]

On 11 September 2018, Baja California Sur governor Carlos Mendoza Davis announced the return of CIBACOPA basketball to La Paz during the celebration of the re-inauguration of the Arena La Paz.[7] The Mantarrayas name and corresponding logo was revealed during a press conference in January 2019 and Argentine coach Juan José Pidal was announced as the team's first head coach heading into the 2019 season.[8][9] They selected Mexico national team player Irwin Ávalos with the first overall pick in the 2019 draft.[10]

The Mantarrayas played their first official game on 28 March 2019, losing 90–86 to the Pioneros de Los Mochis in their home opener.[11] They achieved their first ever victory the following night, beating the Pioneros 98–92 to even up the series.[12] The team finished the regular season in fifth place with an 18–16 record.[13] Ávalos, Antonio Peña and Tyrone White were named All-Stars.[14] In the first round of the playoffs, the Mantarrayas defeated the Caballeros de Culiacán four games to one.[15] They then beat the Halcones de Ciudad Obregón in a seven-game semifinal series, sealing their trip to the finals with a 105–92 victory in game 7, led by Kyle Lamonte with 26 points.[16] Facing the Rayos de Hermosillo led by Jeremy Hollowell in the finals, the Mantarrayas initially went up 3–2 in the series after Lamonte posted a near triple-double of 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in their 78–76 game 5 victory.[17] However they suffered a humiliating 99–59 defeat in game 6 where Hollowell registered 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists,[18] before falling 90–77 in game 7 to finish as league runner-ups in their debut season.[19]

The Mantarrayas hired Uruguayan coach Federico Camiña ahead of the 2020 season.[20] The team opened the year with a 88–82 loss to the Tijuana Zonkeys on 12 March,[21] and played only a handful of games before the season was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico.[22]

The Mantarrayas announced that the team would not participate in the 2022 season due to the continued risk of COVID-19.[23] They subsequently opted out of the 2023 season as well.[24]

Head coaches
  • Argentina Juan José Pidal (2019)
  • Uruguay Federico Camiña (2020)

Honours

Domestic competitions

References
  1. "Mantarrayas La Paz crearán su identidad". El Sudcaliforniano (in Spanish). 22 January 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  2. Ham, Russ (24 September 2019). "Three New Professional Sport Franchises in La Paz". The Baja Citizen. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  3. "Los Náuticos de Mazatlán se presentan en La Paz y Los Cabos". Tribuna de Los Cabos (in Spanish). 13 March 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  4. "¿Quiénes somos? - Conoce más del Cibacopa" (in Spanish). CIBACOPA. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  5. "Del 13 al 15 la gira de Náuticos de Mazatlán por BCS". Infórmate BCS (in Spanish). 5 March 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  6. Pérez, Xavier (14 March 2017). "7 paceños en la mira de Náuticos de Mazatlán". El Informante BCS (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  7. "Se Inaugura la Arena La Paz" (in Spanish). Government of Baja California Sur. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  8. "Pepe Pidal será el coach de Mantarrayas La Paz". El Sudcaliforniano (in Spanish). 17 January 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  9. "Mantarrayas será el nuevo equipo profesional de basquet de La Paz; tendrán coach argentino". BCS Noticias (in Spanish). 16 January 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  10. "Histórico Draft del CIBACOPA" (in Spanish). CIBACOPA. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  11. Soto Mendoza, Christian (29 March 2019). "Pioneros arranca con victoria en La Paz". debate.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  12. Plata García, Javier (30 March 2019). "Mantarrayas La Paz consigue su primera victoria de la temporada". El Sudcaliforniano (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  13. "Este miércoles se reanudan semis en Cibacopa". Uniradio Informa (in Spanish). 2 July 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  14. Mayo, Santiago (10 May 2019). "Jalisco listo para Juego de Estrellas de CIBACOPA" (in Spanish). meganoticias.mx. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  15. Mora, José Angel (14 June 2019). "Mantarrayas Elimina A Caballeros De Culiacan, Uno De Los Favoritos Al Título Del CIBACOPA". Revista Super Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  16. "Mantarrayas disputará la final del Cibacopa". El Sudcaliforniano (in Spanish). 5 July 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  17. "Los Rayos regresan abajo en la final". El Imparcial (in Spanish). 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  18. Plata García, Javier (17 July 2019). "Rayos de Hermosillo obligan al séptimo juego". El Sudcaliforniano (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  19. Plata García, Javier (18 July 2019). "Mantarrayas de La Paz, subcampeón del Cibacopa 2019". El Sudcaliforniano (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  20. Rigali, Marcel (20 January 2020). "Camiña otra vez por México". Basquet Total (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  21. Mejía, Johanna (12 March 2020). "Zonkeys arrancan ganando". El Imparcial (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  22. Plata García, Javier (19 March 2020). "Mantarrayas suspende su temporada del Cibacopa". El Sudcaliforniano (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  23. "Equipo Mantarrayas La Paz no participará en la siguiente temporada de la Cibacopa". BCS Noticias (in Spanish). 20 February 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  24. González, Ángel (8 January 2023). "Mantarrayas se bajan". El Imparcial (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 June 2023.
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