Renegade vs GILR Wildcats @ 9:30PM
Batu Bersurat Indoor Gym
Ford team is waiting who will win tonight for the final match tomorrow night.
source from official site of Jake's streetball 2009 (here)
By JIM ARMSTRONG, AP Sports Writer
TOKYO (AP)—At 7-foot-9, it’s hard to overlook Chinese center Sun Mingming. The comparisons with NBA star Yao Ming(notes) are inevitable.
Able to dunk while barely leaving the ground, Sun just completed the most successful season of his pro career, helping the Hamamatsu Phoenix to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference of Japan’s professional basketball league.
Sun Mingming (left) towers over an opposing player.
(AP photo)
“I just want to keep playing basketball,” the 25-year-old Sun said after the final game of the season. “Whether it’s here in Japan or in the United States, I hope to keep playing for at least 10 more years.”
His size has led to the comparisons with his compatriot Yao of the Houston Rockets, but Sun’s lack of speed is considered by some experts as a barrier to a career in the NBA.
If he ever makes it to the NBA, Sun would be the tallest player in the league’s history, overtaking Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan, who both stood 7-foot-7. Yao, at 7-foot-6, is the tallest active NBA player.
“He’s a pretty good passer and a good shooter,” said former Cleveland Cavaliers scout Robert Pierce, who now coaches in Japan. “He’s so big that he could have a chance in the NBA but I think his size would be lessened because of the athletic ability and speed of NBA players.”
Sun was on a one-year contract with Hamamatsu and said he will weigh his options as he bids to take his game to the next level.
The Bayan, China, native went to the U.S. in 2005 to train for a possible career in the NBA and was declared eligible for the draft that year. But after a brief tryout with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was not selected.
The feedback then was that Sun lacked stamina and aggressiveness.
The news got worse for him that summer, although it perhaps explained a couple of his on-court deficiencies. Sun learned that he had a benign brain tumor pressing against his pituitary gland. The tumor was preventing the proper production of testosterone, decreasing his stamina and endurance.
The tumor was also causing an overproduction of growth hormone resulting in a condition known as ‘acromegaly’ that causes various parts of the body to sustain abnormal and unstoppable growth.
The tumor was successfully removed in September 2005. Despite being in his 20s, he’d grown four inches taller in the previous few years.
Since the surgery, Sun has been a well traveled journeyman. He played with several minor league basketball teams including the Dodge City Legends of the United States Basketball League, the Maryland Nighthawks of the American Basketball Association and the Grand Rapids Flight of the International Basketball League.
In 2007, Sun played for Mexican professional team Fuerza Regia before coming to Japan.
Sun played in 14 games for Grand Rapids and 25 games for Fuerza Regia so his 49 games this season is a big improvement.
Endurance is obviously becoming less of an issue.
Sun played in the all-star game in his first season in Japan and had 67 dunks in 49 games. He averaged 7.7 points and had 280 rebounds. In April, he had a season-high 19 points and 13 rebounds in 33 minutes against the Niigata Albirex BB.
Despite his improved play, Sun admits there are points to his game he needs to work on.
“We’re a pretty fast team and sometimes I have trouble getting back in the play,” said Sun, who started playing basketball when he was 15. “But I’ve been working on my conditioning and feel pretty good now.”
Playing against Sun can be a daunting task to many of his opponents.
“It’s surreal,” says 6-foot-8 forward Lynn Washington, a two-time MVP in Japan. “You can’t really do much because he’s so big. He just holds the ball up in the air and it looks like a tennis ball.”
Washington’s Osaka Evessa teammate Ryan Blackwell said playing against Sun generates some unique challenges.
“He changes the whole dynamic of your thinking when you’re in the game,” Blackwell said. “He doesn’t move as well laterally so it’s a lot easier to move around him than over him. There are times when he is really aggressive on the court but he needs to be that way more consistently.”
Sun’s resume even includes an appearance in the 2007 comedy Rush Hour 3 with Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. After appearing in the fight scene, he said he’s more interested in basketball than Hollywood.
“I think I’ll stick to basketball for now,” Sun said. “I don’t want people to think I’m not totally focused on playing.”
For now, he plans to enjoy some home comforts for a while, returning to China to play in a tournament and catch up with family.
“I haven’t been home in almost two years,” Sun said. “I just want to go home and see my family.”
source @ yahoo sports (here)
Ford clinches the first finals slot for Sunday by overpowering Edli Bobcats, 101-91. Ford relied heavily on Sonny Bautista and Magaan scoring 32 and 20 points respectively.
Bobcats piled up early on personal fouls making them helpless to put up a tight defense as early as the second period.
Noel Grafil put the Bobcats closer by 1 point from a 9 point deficit through consecutive triples in the 3rd period but the whole Bobcats team were helpless in the final period because of foul trouble.
At the end of the game, Bobcats have shown the right gesture how to lose a friendly game and congratulating the whole Ford team in their trip to the finals.
source: Jake's Streetball 2009 Official Site (here)
Games on Thursday: 28 May 2009
9:30pm – Ford vs Bobcats (semi-finals)
Games on Saturday, 30 May 2009:
9:30pm – GILR Wildcats vs Renegade (semi-finals)
Edli Bobcats put on a surprising show last night leading all the way to beat top favourite Queenielin. Queenielin gained advantage by 3 points in the last 2 minutes of the final quarter after trailing most of the time. Consecutive baskets by Jeff Paraiso sealed the win for them and Queenielin conceded victory to Bobcats in the last 8 seconds of the final period. Final score at 84-82.
Ford also took the second semi-final slot after an all out performance by Sonny Bautista winning over M-Image at 80-65
source: Jake's Streetball 2009 Official Site (here)
Group A and B Quarter-final Games tomorrow, 26 May 2009:
1st Game, 8:30pm – Queenielin vs Bobcats
2nd Game, 10pm – Ford vs M-Image
Hua Ho put up a brave stand in the 2nd game last night overtaking Bobcats early in the 3rd quarter by four points. It was a great performance from Hua Ho who had never given up till the finish and had almost caught up again with Bobcats from a 12 point deficit to 7 points in the final period from a couple of 3 pointers from Padrigue.
Hua Ho’s cheerful supporters provided the excitement at every play of last night’s game. Hua Ho’s participation in the friendly games has endeared them to the local spectators considering their players are not stars from local tournaments. Support provided by management and staff rarely seen in local games is also admired.
Rafah also gave Queenielin a scare with the score deadlock a few times from a splendid performance by Ariel Esposo who was limping from a sprained ankle with support from Evangelista and Palma.
source: Jake's Streetball 2009 Official site (here)
more on Brunei Basketball Site (here)
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