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Eric GomezMexico author
The NBA G League introduced its first Latin American enlargement workforce, the Mexico Metropolis Capitanes, will debut this November amid a format change to the competitors’s schedule.
Due to issues stemming from worldwide journey throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Capitanes will play house video games in Fort Value, Texas throughout the Showcase Cup, earlier than internet hosting regular-season video games in different G League cities throughout the US. Final season, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors skilled an analogous destiny, forgoing house video games in Canada for a short lived keep in Tampa, Florida.
“Our journey within the NBA G League will start exterior of Mexico,” the Capitanes stated in a press release. “We are going to play all of subsequent season’s house video games in the US and much from our individuals.”
Previously part of Mexico’s prime home league, the LNBP, the Capitanes had been initially scheduled to hitch the G League for the 2020-21 season.
“As the primary G League franchise primarily based exterior of the U.S. and Canada, we look ahead to welcoming Capitanes to the NBA household,” stated NBA commissioner Adam Silver in his announcement of the enlargement in 2019.
After the COVID-19 pandemic altered the sports activities panorama world wide, the Mexico Metropolis squad sat out the abridged G League season, encased fully on the ESPN Extensive World of Sports activities Advanced in Bay Lake, Florida.
Amidst the fluctuating charges of an infection in nations world wide, in addition to shifting laws governing worldwide journey, the Capitanes will play their preliminary slate of house video games away from Mexico Metropolis. The workforce will formally debut on Nov. 5 towards the Memphis Hustle, on the Landers Heart in Southaven, Mississippi.
“At this time, greater than ever, we need to promote Mexican and Latin American sports activities, and write our identify within the NBA G League historical past e-book,” the Capitanes stated.
The assertion additionally revealed the workforce’s possession group mulled sitting out a second consecutive season, although finally it “was not a viable choice.”
The Capitanes are certainly one of three franchises debuting this season. The Motor Metropolis Cruise and the Birmingham Squadron, associates of the Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively, may also begin play in November. The Capitanes usually are not affiliated with a NBA franchise.
All 28 G League groups will function at The Showcase Cup, a 14-game match which ends in a single-elimination section within the first a part of the season schedule. After a champion is topped, a 36-game common season is about to start on December 27, assuring every workforce a 50-game season. The G League finals are set to start in April 2022.