Going thru hoops at the border

In honor of the 258th anniversary of the founding of Reynosa (Tamps)/McAllen (Texas), Alcalde Javier García and Mayor Richard Cortez sponsored an exhibition game between the McAllen Silverados and the Reynosa Correcaminos. 

Todd Mavreles of The McAllen Monitor (with an assist by La Frontera sports editor Ed Chrnko Salas) give the play by play…

HIDALGO-REYNOSA INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE — The Rio Grande Valley Silverados promise show-stopping, pulse-racing basketball when they make their American Basketball Association debut this fall. For 15 minutes on Tuesday morning, they stopped traffic and made a little bit of history.

In an exhibition dubbed the “Unity of Nations” the Silverados played the Reynosa Correcaminos of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Professional before approximately 100 spectators on the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge with half court being the demarcation line between the United States and Mexico.

“It was more of an exhibition game, a friendly game just to show unity between the nations,” said Silverados co-owner Kevin Mitchell, who played for the Silverados. “Basketball has knocked down racial barriers throughout history and this was just another demonstration of that.”

Baskets were affixed to trucks and the teams held up traffic heading to Reynosa while partaking in a 5-minute game in which players dealt with a wet macadam surface and speed bumps. La Joya’s Alejandro Robles scored the first basket for the Correcaminos and former Edinburg and University of Texas-Pan American star and current Edinburg Economedes coach Lalo Rios drained a long jumper for Reynosa.

Mitchell himself a former Bronc, played alongside fellow former UTPA players Matt Palmquist and Chris Fagan for RGV.

While the Silverados scored it a 4-4 tie, they believe the end result transcends more than a final score.

“With our team it’s not just entertainment value,” Mitchell said. “I think it was a great opportunity to promote one part of the puzzle that we bring with our team. We’re not only entertainment value, but also community involvement as well.”

A little locker-room talk from El Universal (my translation):

Art González, part-owner of the Rio Grande Valley Silverados remarked that the game was the first ever using an international border as the half-court line, an event that should earn a place in the Guiness Book of World Records.

David Sikes, an American player for the Silverados, showed that when it comes to border issues, like migration, governments could learn something from the game.

“I believe that we can do it better than we are doing it now. We don’t need walls. I have a lot of Mexican friends, and I like being in Mexico,” said Sikes, who played last year for the Correcaminos.