La Ola Roja del Distrito Federal


The Club Deportivo La Ola del Distrito Federal, also known simply as La Ola or La Ola Roja were a professional basketball team based in Mexico City. The team participated in the first edition of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional in 2000, and reached the championship game in 2003, losing to Panteras de Aguascalientes.

History

The team was founded in 2000. The first coach was Francisco Ramírez, and the first import players were Americans Richard Cannon and Sean Wright. The first season in 2000 saw the team end the regular season with a losing record, 10–30. Nevertheless, the team was admitted to the playoffs, where they faced Osos de Saltillo. Richard Cannon and Mexican Rafael Sandoval were selected in the first LNBP All-Star Game in 2000.
In 2001 the new coach was Héctor Macías Calleja; he was later replaced by José Bravo Roblés. The import players for the season were Americans Mark Body, Richard Cannon and Jeff Clifton. The team ended the 2001 LNBP season with an 18–26 record; players Daniel Macías, Rafael Sandoval and Jeff Clifton were selected for the All-Star Game. Clifton also ranked third in the league in scoring at 24.4 points per game.
In 2002 Luis Fernando Wong had his first stint as a coach; the team signed Jermaine Tate, who had played college basketball at Ohio State and Cincinnati. The team ended the season in 7th place with a 22–22 record. For the 2003 season the imports were American Eric Martin, Nakiea Miller and Jermaine Tate; the coach was Argentinian Daniel Maffei. Tate was later replaced by Senegalese center Boubacar Aw. The team ended the regular season in 4th place, with a 28–20 record. La Ola Roja reached the championship games, where they lost to Panteras de Aguascalientes.
In the 2004 season, La Ola were put in the Zona Sur, one of the two groups in which the LNBP teams were separated. In that season, players Javier González Rex and Boubacar Aw were selected as All-Stars. The team also signed former Los Angeles Lakers small forward Alex Blackwell. The team, coached by Luis Fernando Wong, who had returned to the club in June 2004, finished with a 24–16 record. The team ended in the 7th place in the 2005 LNBP season. In 2006, La Ola ended in the 11th place. The 2006 season was the last one played by La Ola, which stopped participating in the LNBP and ceased operations in 2007.

Season-by-season records