# 2018 CIBACOPA season

The 2018 CIBACOPA season was the 18th season of the Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacífico (CIBACOPA), one of the professional basketball leagues of Mexico. It started on 5 April 2018 and ended on 19 July 2019. The league title was won by the Tijuana Zonkeys, who defeated the Garra Cañera de Navolato in the championship series, 4–2. It was the Zonkeys' third CIBACOPA title, which tied the Trigueros de Ciudad Obregón for the most in league history.

## Overview
### Format

Ten teams participate, playing in one single group. The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs, which are three rounds in a best-of-7 format.
The start of the season was postponed by a month to allow players to return from playing in other international leagues.

### Teams

All ten teams in the league returned from the previous season. The owner of the Mineros de Cananea, René Quiroga, attempted to revive the franchise and relocate to either Nogales or Agua Prieta as the 11th team in the league, but this did not materialize.
| Team | City | State | Joined | Season No. |
| Águilas Doradas de Durango | Durango | Durango | 2017 | 2 |
| Caballeros de Culiacán | Culiacán | Sinaloa | 2001 | 15 |
| Frayles de Guasave | Guasave | Sinaloa | 2001 | 18 |
| Garra Cañera de Navolato | Navolato | Sinaloa | 2012 | 7 |
| Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | Ciudad Obregón | Sonora | 2016 | 3 |
| Náuticos de Mazatlán | Mazatlán | Sinaloa | 2015 | 4 |
| Ostioneros de Guaymas | Guaymas | Sonora | 2009 | 10 |
| Pioneros de Los Mochis | Los Mochis | Sinaloa | 2001 | 18 |
| Rayos de Hermosillo | Hermosillo | Sonora | 2009 | 10 |
| Tijuana Zonkeys | Tijuana | Baja California | 2010 | 9 |

## Draft

The 2018 CIBACOPA draft was held on 26 and 27 February. Each team received three picks across three rounds, though five teams declined to make a selection in the third round. The Náuticos de Mazatlán declined to participate in the draft as they already had their roster filled out.
| Round | Pick # | Team | Player | Position |
| 1 | 1 | Águilas Doradas de Durango | Irwin Ávalos | PF |
| 1 | 2 | Caballeros de Culiacán | Jorge Casillas | G/F |
| 1 | 3 | Frayles de Guasave | Sammy Yeager | G |
| 1 | 4 | Garra Cañera de Navolato | Alejandro Villanueva | SF |
| 1 | 5 | Tijuana Zonkeys | Carlos Pérez | F |
| 1 | 6 | Ostioneros de Guaymas | Jorge Salcedo | F |
| 1 | 7 | Pioneros de Los Mochis | Isaac Gutiérrez | C |
| 1 | 8 | Rayos de Hermosillo | P. J. Reyes | G/F |
| 1 | 9 | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | Juan Ramírez | G/F |
| 2 | 1 | Águilas Doradas de Durango | Joseph Hutchingson | SF |
| 2 | 2 | Caballeros de Culiacán | José Valdez | F |
| 2 | 3 | Frayles de Guasave | Brandon Heredia | G |
| 2 | 4 | Garra Cañera de Navolato | Brandon Provost | G |
| 2 | 5 | Tijuana Zonkeys | Steve Pledger | SG |
| 2 | 6 | Ostioneros de Guaymas | Dominique Keller | F |
| 2 | 7 | Pioneros de Los Mochis | Sergio Lugo | PF |
| 2 | 8 | Rayos de Hermosillo | Ezra Swanson | PG |
| 2 | 9 | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | Elvis Medina | PG |
| 3 | 1 | Águilas Doradas de Durango | Pass |
| 3 | 2 | Caballeros de Culiacán | Al'Lonzo Coleman | PF |
| 3 | 3 | Frayles de Guasave | Leroy Davis | SG |
| 3 | 4 | Garra Cañera de Navolato | Justin Watts | G/F |
| 3 | 5 | Tijuana Zonkeys | Pass |
| 3 | 6 | Ostioneros de Guaymas | Pass |
| 3 | 7 | Pioneros de Los Mochis | Pass |
| 3 | 8 | Rayos de Hermosillo | Pass |
| 3 | 9 | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | Omar Quintero | PG |

## Regular season

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Garra Cañera de Navolato | 38 | 24 | 14 | 3347 | 3245 | +102 | 62 | 2018 CIBACOPA playoffs |
| 2 | Rayos de Hermosillo | 38 | 22 | 16 | 3477 | 3412 | +65 | 60 | 2018 CIBACOPA playoffs |
| 3 | Pioneros de Los Mochis | 38 | 16 | 22 | 3369 | 3429 | −60 | 54 | 2018 CIBACOPA playoffs |
| 4 | Tijuana Zonkeys | 38 | 21 | 17 | 3309 | 3202 | +107 | 59 | 2018 CIBACOPA playoffs |
| 5 | Caballeros de Culiacán | 38 | 21 | 17 | 3451 | 3353 | +98 | 59 | 2018 CIBACOPA playoffs |
| 6 | Náuticos de Mazatlán | 38 | 16 | 22 | 3413 | 3489 | −76 | 54 | 2018 CIBACOPA playoffs |
| 7 | Águilas Doradas de Durango | 38 | 18 | 20 | 3447 | 3450 | −3 | 56 | 2018 CIBACOPA playoffs |
| 8 | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | 38 | 17 | 21 | 3397 | 3423 | −26 | 55 | 2018 CIBACOPA playoffs |
| 9 | Ostioneros de Guaymas | 38 | 19 | 19 | 3357 | 3367 | −10 | 57 | |
| 10 | Frayles de Guasave | 38 | 16 | 22 | 3330 | 3527 | −197 | 54 | |

## Playoffs

Source:
| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Garra Cañera de Navolato | 1 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | 4 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | 4 | 8 | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | 4 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Rayos de Hermosillo | 2 | | | |
| 2 | Rayos de Hermosillo | 4 | 2 | Rayos de Hermosillo | 2 | | | |
| 7 | Águilas Doradas de Durango | 1 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Águilas Doradas de Durango | 1 | | | | 8 | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | 2 |
| | | | | | | 4 | Tijuana Zonkeys | 4 |
| 3 | Pioneros de Los Mochis | 3 | | | | | | | 4 | Tijuana Zonkeys | 4 |
| 6 | Náuticos de Mazatlán | 4 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Náuticos de Mazatlán | 4 | 6 | Náuticos de Mazatlán | 1 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Tijuana Zonkeys | 4 | | | |
| 4 | Tijuana Zonkeys | 4 | 4 | Tijuana Zonkeys | 4 | | | |
| 5 | Caballeros de Culiacán | 2 | | | | | | |
* 2018 winners
* Tijuana Zonkeys 3rd title
The Tijuana Zonkeys won the 2018 CIBACOPA title after defeating the Halcones de Ciudad Obregón, four games to two. The Zonkeys clinched the title with an 87–73 victory over the Halcones in front of a sold-out crowd in Tijuana in Game 6.
Two Zonkeys players, Trayvon Lathan and Luis "Chupa" Ramírez, announced their retirement following the win.

## Statistics

Source:

### Individual statistic leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Sammy Yeager | Frayles de Guasave | 25.3 |
| Rebounds per game | Tavario Miller | Pioneros de Los Mochis | 10.3 |
| Assists per game | Jeff Stubbs | Águilas Doradas de Durango | 7.2 |
| Steals per game | Bruce Massey | Caballeros de Culiacán | 2.3 |
| Blocks per game | Brandon Swannegan | Garra Cañera de Navolato | 1.6 |
| Fouls per game | Derek Roscoe | Pioneros de Los Mochis | 3.4 |
| Minutes per game | Sammy Yeager | Frayles de Guasave | 36.8 |
| FG% | Jevonlean Hedgeman | Águilas Doradas de Durango | 64.2% |
| FT% | Omar Richards | Ostioneros de Guaymas | 86.5% |
| 3FG% | Tahj Tate | Ostioneros de Guaymas | 44.0% |

### Individual game highs

| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points | Musa Abdul-Aleem | Ostioneros de Guaymas | 44 |
| Rebounds | Israel Gutiérrez | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | 20 |
| Rebounds | Jimmy Hall | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | 20 |
| Assists | Jeff Ledbetter | Náuticos de Mazatlán | 18 |
| Steals | Geron Johnson | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | 7 |
| Blocks | Tavario Miller | Pioneros de Los Mochis | 9 |
| Three pointers | Jaylen Bland | Caballeros de Culiacán | 11 |

### Team statistic leaders

| Category | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Rayos de Hermosillo | 90.3 |
| Rebounds per game | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | 37.8 |
| Assists per game | Águilas Doradas de Durango | 18.7 |
| Steals per game | Caballeros de Culiacán | 8.8 |
| Blocks per game | Ostioneros de Guaymas | 3.5 |
| Turnovers per game | Águilas Doradas de Durango | 14.1 |
| Fouls per game | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón | 17.9 |
| FG% | Tijuana Zonkeys | 48.9% |
| FT% | Garra Cañera de Navolato | 76.0% |
| 3P% | Tijuana Zonkeys | 36.7% |

## All-Star Game

The 2018 CIBACOPA All-Star Game was played in Culiacán, Sinaloa, at the Polideportivo Juan S. Millán on 19 May 2018. Zona Sur defeated Zona Norte, 137–128. A. J. West led all scorers with 31 points, but Erick Frederick was named the All-Star Game MVP recording 30 points and four rebounds and leading Zona Sur to the victory.
Luis Ramírez won the three-point shootout, defeating the defending champion Steve Monreal, as well as Nick Murphy, José Medina, Erick Frederick, Sammy Yeager, Martín Samargo, Adrián Villalobos, and Justin Ávalos. Michael Bryson won the dunk contest.

### Teams

Source: