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WCBLn Basketball
The Breakers travel back to China - Nov 4, 2008 (by Gianni Pascucci)
Just after receiving the last part of the wonderful Chinese Tour Report written by coach Curt Pickering , the Santa Barbara Breakers staff sent to us another interesting new: some days ago, coach Pickering received a call from the Chinese government asking him to return for another 14 days in that country, to play other 8 games.
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Just after receiving the last part of the wonderful Chinese Tour Report written by coach Curt Pickering , the Santa Barbara Breakers staff sent to us another interesting new: some days ago, coach Pickering received a call from the Chinese government asking him to return for another 14 days in that country, to play other 8 games. Pickering started to contact players to form a new team, and the result is a 11 men squad for this second journey, that includes: Tim Taylor (6'3''-G-82, college: Wayne St., NE), Jeff McMillan (6'8''-F-80, college: USC), Keith Closs (7'3''-C-76, agency: Court Side, college: Cent.Conn.St.), Tom Conboy (6'8''-F, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement), Danny Grey (6'9''-C) , Curtis Crews (6'5'-F-84), William Knight (6'5''-F/G-79, college: UCLA), Darnell Scott (6'5''-F-76, college: Kutztown), Everage Richardson (6'3''-G, agency: Heinrich Sports), Chet Johnson (6'4''-F/G, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.) and Mike Westphal (6'3'-G-79. This new invitation is a confirm of the high level of game delivered by the Breakers in their previous tournee, and is also a proof of the good level of the West Coast Basketball League..
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Breakers to China Report - 7 - Nov 2, 2008 (by Gianni Pascucci)
(by Coach Curt Pickering) - Our 25 day journey was quickly coming to an end. Two games remained on the schedule. Up to this point, the travel within the country had been great, other than lugging our baggage up and down steep stairs at the train station. We were not prepared for our next travel arrangements. Due to National Holidays being held during the week, many of the Chinese population utilized this time to travel and visit families and landmarks.
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(by Coach Curt Pickering) - Our 25 day journey was quickly coming to an end. Two games remained on the schedule. Up to this point, the travel within the country had been great, other than lugging our baggage up and down steep stairs at the train station. We were not prepared for our next travel arrangements. Due to National Holidays being held during the week, many of the Chinese population utilized this time to travel and visit families and landmarks. Somehow, our scheduled airline flight became overbooked so our promoters had to do double time to get us from point Q to point R. The results were one option and one option only; an 11 hour bus trip.... Eventually, we made it to point R, Yixing. We arrived at 9 pm and were served an awesome meal at a very high quality hotel. That helped take the edge off a bit. Most of the players scheduled massages or went to their rooms to watch TV or read their emails. In my 30 years of coaching I have not seen it all but I have seen a great deal of crazy, out of the ordinary game circumstances. This next one will make my top ten list. I'm not sure it will make David Lettermen's, but mine? An emphatic yes! We were minding our own business, trailing by 15 points to the Jiangsu Dragons; yes another Dragon team. All of a sudden, we make our 'run' in the fourth quarter. With 7 minutes to play, we are within 1 point when forward Mark Dawson (6'9''-F, agency: Tank Sports, college: Long Beach St.) grabs a rebound, outlets it and 8 of the 10 players on the court run down to the Breakers end for a hopeful potential score. I did not continue to fix my eyes on Dawson and the Dragon player still at the other end. What followed was the Dragon player falling on the floor and grabbing his groin area while twisting and turning, grimacing and moaning. The trailing third ref turned around at half court, blew his whistle as Tim Taylor swished a 3 pointer. Not only did they take away the 3 points, they assessed Dawson a technical foul. If you recall a former Lakers player by the name of Vlade Divac, he was renowned for 'inventing' the emotional, 'Hollywood' Flop. He would either welcome a slight bump or physical contact from his opponent and immediately fall down, groaning and showing great facial expressions of pain and exasperation. It is possible that Vlade was this Dragon player's role model... The game changed immediately. Plastic water bottles came flying out of the seats and obviously, out of the hands of the Jiangsu partisan crowd. We naturally had to take cover as 20-30 of these objects came flying at us, in retaliation for an assumed Dawson assault on a Dragon players below-the-belt body region. It took 5-6 minutes to clear the bottles and spilled water off the playing court. For safety's sake, I kept Dawson out of the remaining 7 minutes of the game. Up to this point, he was our leading scorer and rebounder so this did not benefit us whatsoever, from a winning standpoint. We ended up losing the game by 4 points, 90-86, but more disappointing was the blemish placed on the game itself. I love the game of basketball but it is so much more than just the game. It is about entertainment and integrity. It is also about respect for each team's efforts and the spirit of competition. After the game Keith Closs (7'3''-C-76, agency: Court Side, college: Cent.Conn.St.), Dawson and I had dinner with the Dragon coach, who is American and his American player, Harvey Donnell (6'8''-C-80, agency: Octagon, college: Florida). He played three years in the NBA, made $9 million during that time but failed to improve his skills, namely a jumpshot. Thus, he is settling for $50,000 per month in China with the desire to someday return to the NBA. During our conversation, the Dragon coach said that his player had faked the 'assault' and played it up to the referee. I mentioned that I hoped it would not happen the following night. We would be playing them again; fortunately in another city. The coach assured me that he would talk to his players. The line has to be drawn on faking or trying to play the referee's; in China, the US, Europe, anywhere. It crosses the line when you incite 10,000 plus fans by misleading fans and incompetent, partial referee's to gain an advantage. It also can lead to a near-riot, which we almost had. The following night, we played the same Jiangsu Dragons and fell short once again. There were no near-riots. In fact, there were fans up in the stands that were waving the USA flag. Our players absolutely loved this and began a cheer of many fans shouting, USA, USA, USA; similar to the crowd in Fuxin a few weeks back. In a very positive response, many of the 10,000 plus fans began retorting, 'China, China, China.' It was a great display of two countries expressing their loyalties in an energetic, enthusiastic way. When the game was over, the Breakers falling short once again by 4 points, the fans all came down on the court for autographs and to just personalize with the Breaker players. It was a great display of blending two teams, two countries and the game of basketball in one unison. James Naismith would have been proud.
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Breakers to China Report - 6 - Oct 30, 2008 (by Gianni Pascucci)
(by Coach Curt Pickering ) - Our day was treated with a flight out of the gorgeous Beijing Airport, not to mention the players lustful sprint to the infamous Burger King. The Chinese government obviously wanted to impress the world as fans and athletes made their way into the country for the 2008 Olympics held in August. They did not disappoint anyone. We enjoyed visiting shops during the two hour wait and eventually boarded a plane for Bauto, Mongolia.
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(by Coach Curt Pickering ) - Our day was treated with a flight out of the gorgeous Beijing Airport, not to mention the players lustful sprint to the infamous Burger King. The Chinese government obviously wanted to impress the world as fans and athletes made their way into the country for the 2008 Olympics held in August. They did not disappoint anyone. We enjoyed visiting shops during the two hour wait and eventually boarded a plane for Bauto, Mongolia. Once we arrived to the hotel, it was 3 hours of internet e-mailing and watching Crocodile Dundee on HBO before calling it a day. September 30: When we arrived at the arena for our shootaround, I immediately thought of the movie 'Hoosiers' with star Gene Hackman. This ancient museum was something out of pre-caveman days. Obviously, the citys budget, up to this point, had not made sports top priority. Never judge a book by its cover, right? A formal luncheon was scheduled so we hustled back to the hotel and we made our way into the dining room. Nineteen to twenty dignitaries along with media were present. What preceded was an awesome bonding of conversation, food, picture taking and about 9-10 shots of their finest alcohol. In the midst of the two hour meal, each participant was asked to give their comments about this new relationship of Santa Barbara Breakers basketball and the city of Bauto. Each comment was followed by another round of 'toasts'. Did I say 9-10 rounds? I lost count at about 8 so don't quote me on the final tally. When it came my turn, I shared with them about my experiences coaching and traveling abroad and the wonderful people I have met along the way. It caused me to give thanks not only to the Bauto Sports Ministry, the mayor and our promoters but to Dr. James Naismith who invented the wonderful game of basketball. When all was said and done, the 20-some members in the room declared that we coin this new relationship, 'No Borders, No Politics, Just Basketball and Friendship.' Not to show any signs of inconsistency, we toasted to that as well. Later that evening, we put on a great show winning our game 84-73. It was our most spirited game thus far. The fans and media surrounded us after the game for autographs and I gave away multitudes of Breaker basketball cards. Bauto, known for its steel mills and with the similar look of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, had won us over. Our next two days was another enjoyable dose of Shanghai. We located Friday's restaurant and rejoiced on BBQ ribs and mashed potatoes and later found a Sports Bar where they took us in like family and even gave us an original Chinese Basketball to take home. The vendors were at all street locations 24-7 so it was another two day periodical shopping spree. It was back to business as we traveled to Shangdong and played before a full capacity 8,000 fans. I swore the same 3 zebra's (referee's) were on the court that had served up 'home cooking' when we were in Fuxin. Maybe they were China's first laboratory clones. We got shellacked 74-71. The score was close but every time we made a run to tie the score, a whistle blew. Get the picture? We did have a chance to tie it on a 3 point attempt with 12 seconds left but it fell short, as did the final score. The following night in Zibol, we played the same Shangdong Golden Club but different results transpired, thanks to a newly implemented full-court press that the Dragons could not counter. We were up by 31 points and for once, the referee's were demonstrating some competency. We closed them out 77-53.
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Breakers to China Report - 5 - Oct 26, 2008
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Breakers to China Report - 4 - Oct 23, 2008
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Breakers working out for D-Fenders 2008-09 roster - Oct 22, 2008
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Breakers to China Report - 3 - Oct 21, 2008
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Breakers to China Report - 2 - Oct 19, 2008
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Breakers to China Report - 1 - Oct 17, 2008
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Breakers annonce hosting 2008 Holiday Tournment - Sep 6, 2008
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The Breakers travel to China - Sep 4, 2008
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WCPBL Awards announced - Jun 27, 2008
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Breakers Win Championship - Jun 26, 2008
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West Coast Championship Series at the start - Jun 20, 2008
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Another win for the Breakers - Jun 6, 2008
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Player Status - Jun 6, 2008
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Close call for the Breakers - Jun 4, 2008
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