East meets West when the 2010 ABA Friendship Games comes to San Diego April 25. The double-header will feature the Philippine National Basketball Team, Smart Gilas, playing the San Diego Surf professional team of the American Basketball Association and the Philippine National Youth Team playing the San Diego Ballers, an all-star under 17 AAU boys team.
A limited number of tickets to the San Diego international face-off game are available and can be purchased in advance at www.SDSurfHoops.com.
These Friendship Games, presented for the first time in the U.S. will begin in San Diego and continue with four more double-header events with ABA and AAU teams playing the Philippine teams in Los Angeles and Riverside through April 30.
Smart Gilas, 2012 Olympics bound, comes with a towering roster including three 6-foot-11 and two 7-foot players. The San Diego Surf recently returned from Chengdu China, having played an equally tall lineup with two starting seven-footers on the Beijing Aoshen Olympian Team.
The Surf will field two 7-foot-2 players among its team of veteran pro players. Point guard, Willie Hall, the team’s assist leader, finished last season with the Surf after playing in Europe on the Romanian team. Guards 6-foot-5 John Clark and 6-foot-4 Terry Menefee were recently named to the 2010 ABA All-Star Team and given an Honorable Mention respectively. The team’s two veteran 6-foot-7 forwards, Aaron Hands and Greg Clark, have played several years in the ABA including an outstanding past season with the Surf. Terry Mason, with 33 years coaching experience, including three years in the pros, heads the Surf.
The San Diego Ballers will play the Philippine National Youth Team in the first game of the double-header. Coached by Glenn Espanto and assistant Earl Camatcho, the team comes to the court with 6-foot-1 junior guard Alex Perez as the third leading scorer nationwide in pre-season play this past year. Also in the play will be D.J. Hicks, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, who averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds in pre-season play and Darreon Tolliver, a 6-foot-6 senior, who averaged 7 points and 13 rebounds in the San Diego County Eastern League and was also an all-star player at the Seniors Game.
Both games will be played at the HourGlass Arena at Miramar College, starting at 5:15 p.m. with the pro teams taking the court at 7:30.
