Semi-pro Matamoros basketball team includes Brownsville players

Eduardo Villarreal and some fellow athletes have formed a semi-pro basketball team they hope will help fill the void created by the departure of the Matamoros Correcaminos, who played in Mexico's Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP).

Prior to the recently completed 2007-2008 LNBP season, the Correcaminos disbanded and resurfaced as the Venados of Nuevo Laredo.

Some of the athletes who played in the Correcaminos' system still live in Matamoros and are very much interested in promoting basketball by representing the city as a semi-pro team. Some Brownsville players are also members of the squad.

"What we'd like to do is have something for the (basketball) fans from Matamoros and in the Valley to do now (that the Correcaminos are gone)," Villarreal said. "Maybe there are young players out there in the high schools or wherever who could play in this type of (semi-pro) league. We'd like for them to come see us play and check it out."

Villarreal, a 2001 Hanna High School graduate, played in the Correcaminos' organization four years. He is a 6-foot small forward. Two other athletes from the Correcaminos' system are Matamoros natives Roberto Medrano, a 5-foot-7 point guard, and Carlos Guajardo, a 6-0 small forward.

Also scheduled to play for the Matamoros semi-pro team are two former Brownsville high school standouts - George Rivera, a 6-0 shooting guard, and Julio "Paco" Lozano, a 6-2 small forward.

Other members of the Matamoros team are 5-7 point guard Ulysses Robles, 5-5 point guard Aldair Robles, 5-10 guard Bryan Cantu, 5-10 guard Francisco "Paco" Rivera and 6-3 center Eleasar Garcia.

The team's season begins May 17 with a road game. The first home game is scheduled for May 24. Villarreal said the team's season will run approximately three months.

He said the Matamoros team's home games will be played at Alberca Chavez gym, which is located approximately 10 blocks from Gateway International Bridge.

According to Villarreal, the Matamoros squad will play in a seven-team semi-pro league that also includes squads from Monterrey, Madero, Tampico, Victoria, Saltillo and Nuevo Laredo.

Villarreal said some of the players on the current Matamoros squad played with on a team representing Aldama last season. Because Aldama is at least three hours from Matamoros, the players would like to compete as a team out of Matamoros this time around.

"We got into the league late last year when we joined the Aldama team, which already had four losses," Villarreal said. "The first couple of games, there weren't that many people, but we started winning and then we had some good crowds. There were like eight players from Matamoros and four from Aldama on the team playing for Aldama. It was pretty cool."

One of the biggest reasons for having the team is to provide a positive influence for the youth of Matamoros, Villarreal said.

"The idea that my friends and I have is to help out young people from the Valley and Matamoros because I know that there are guys out there who would like to try to play at this (semi-pro) level," he said. "It could start for them here because next year we're probably going to get a few more players from the Valley. There are basketball players out there, and I know that they can do it.

"The main thing that we would like is for people from Matamoros and the Valley to just go out to the games and support us," he added. "It's going to be something for us, for the fans and for the kids. It's a good opportunity for the kids to become involved with basketball."

The team is seeking sponsors from Brownsville and Matamoros, Villarreal said.

"I know we can give the fans a good team that can win," Villarreal said. "Last year (with Aldama), we were beating the other teams (in the league) by 10 and 20 points. I think we can continue winning this year for Matamoros and the Valley."

For more information, contact Villarreal at 525-2571.