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Orange County Gladiators (4-4) have entered their first season in the WCBL after competing in the ABA during the 2007-08 campaign. Part of the process is adjusting the roster to find the effective chemistry both on and off the floor. Under the leadership of Head Coach and starting player Tony Farmer (6’10 255), the Glads have taken each game down to the final buzzer and will be in the thick of the playoff run come mid-June. Once the roster is established, look for the OC unit to make loud noise as they march in their attempt for the WCBL crown. The always dangerous Pasadena Slam have taken their lumps thus far, limping to a 2-5 record. Several of their key players have been missing during various games but as June rolls through, there is no question that sufficient talent is abundant in Owner and Coach Rob Robinson’s camp. Timing and momentum is everything and observer’s of the WCBL fully acknowledge that the veteran play of Horace Worsley, Larry Williams, Robin Kennedy, Eric Holmes, Taron Williams and Lamar Gayle are the best of the best in the League. Throw in 7’2 rookie center Mike Boone and you have a squad of talent, chemistry and raw-hard skills that will create nightmares for opponent’s come playoff time.

Doing it the hard way is the Hollywood Jammers. Starting out with a 1-8 mark, players have been shuffled in and out, defense has been suspect at times, but…..there is no denying the Jammers of a frontline who can rebound with the best at the professional minor league level. Durwin Williams, Donald Jones, Lamar Harris and Robert Banks (6’11) are forming the most effective wall in the WCBL. As they mesh with backcourt stars Wesley Stokes and Chuck Taylor, Hollywood has every right to see themselves competing for the 2009 Championship in Santa Barbara on June 13 and 14.

The grading marks for the WCBL at this point? The Championship is up for grabs. Are the 14 regular season games of any value? Absolutely. Establishing your roster and learning to play together as a team is paramount. But……..nothing can be assumed at this point. No team is wearing the “Cinderella” slippers in the WCBL this season. It will be a “Battle at the Beaches” when the Playoffs begin in June. Who will take the crown? Roll the dice…..take your best bet!

1 Colorado NBDL 38-16 Champions
2 Utah NBDL 34-20 Runnerup Champions
3 Austin NBDL 33-19 Playoff Team
4 Dakota NBDL 28-24 Playoff Team
5 Idaho NBDL 31-20 Playoff Team
6 Iowa NBDL 28-23 Playoff Team
7 Rochester PBL 23-05 Champions
8 Kentucky ABA 22-05 Champions
9 Erie NBDL 27-24 Playoff Team
10 Bakersfield NBDL 26-25 Playoff Team
11 SE Texas ABA 26-02 Playoff Team
12 Lawton-Fort Sill CBA Champions
13 Maywood ABA 25-5 Runnerup Champions
14 Santa Barbara WCBL 10-02
15 Newport Beach WCBL 09-04
16 Wilmington PBL 19-09 Playoff Team
17 Manchester PBL 18-08 Playoff Team
18 Beijing Aoshen Olympians ABA 26-09 Playoff Team
19 Chicago Steam ABA 18-05 Playoff Team
20 TIE-Holland IBL 11-02
TIE-Bellingham IBL 11-03

LEAGUES RANKED (Alphabetically)
1 ABA
2 CBA
3 IBL
4 NBDL
5 PBL
6 WBA
7 WCBL

The Santa Barbara Breakers are treading on unfamiliar waters as they were bumped from first place earlier this week by the Newport Beach Surf. After subduing the Pasadena Slam 134-115 Tuesday night, the Surf are now 5-1 as they come to SBCC saturday for an encounter against the Breakers (4-1). The Breakers lost their first WCBL game in two years last sunday against the Ventura County Jets 115-107. That snapped a WCBL 22 game winning streak which includeds the 2008 18-0 perfect season.
The Surf come into saturdays game boasting 7 players averaging double figures. Leading the way is point guard Vince Camper at 26ppg followed closely by Jason Harris at 25.5 and Deshae Rockett at 24.3. Manning the frontline is 6’9 Marcell Jackson (Long Beach St) with 8.2 rebounds per game; 6’9 Tez Banks at 16 points per game and Ryan Hynes (6’8) 11.0 ppg. Not to be overlooked, 6’7 Mike Martin also tallies 19.3 ppg and point guard James Reynolds at 12.2 ppg.
The Surf play a fast, aggressive game under the direction of Coach Kirk Turner, former assistant coach in the ABA for the now defunct Long Beach
Jam.
The Breakers have been led so far by Allan Purnell at 21.2 ppg;  Tim Taylor’s 20.4 and Zack Fray’s 19.9 ppg. Point guard Mark Peters has returned to the Breakers and injured 2008 WCBL MVP Josh Merrill is expected to play this weekend after sitting out last weeks two games due to a bruised heel that limited his ability to jump and sprint. Also contributing to the Breakers attack is Santiago Aguirre, 12 ppg/9rpg and big guard Isaiah Orange at 11ppg and 8 rpg. Center Jeremy Vague (6’11) recorded his first career triple double at Pasadena on May 26 and averages 13 points and 11 reboundsper game. Sharing point guard duties with Peters is local favorite Shantay Legans.

Aided by 3 point scoring, the Surf quickly jumped out to a 21-12 score in the first quarter. Sheldon Pace (34 points) took notice and went on a torrid scoring pace inside and out to lead a comeback and lead 31-28 at the end of the
first quarter.

With Mark Dawson controlling the boards (11 caroms) and point guard Bruce Prince scoring and distributing, the Surf re-took command of the game, leading 60-53 at the half. Prince finished with 27 points, 7 assists and 9 rebounds. He was
also a thorn in the side at the free throw line, nailing 11 of 12. Coming off the bench and providing offensive support was guard James Reynolds with 15 (4-6 treys); Cornell Williams 11 points and Jason Harris 10 points.

In the second half, the Surf lead by 19 points, 112-93. This hit a nerve with the Olympians. Behind Huo Nan’s scoring both from outside and off the fastbreak (23 points), the Olympian’s made a valliant comeback and actually led 118-116 with 27 ticks remaining in the game. This called for game heroics and veteran Lammond Murray provided such. With 13 seconds left in the game, Murray launched a rainbow deep from the left corner, over 6’10 Li Wei’s outstretched arms. It was nothing but net and the Surf were back up one. The Olympian’s were unable to score on their last two possessions and the Surf had their first victory of the 2009 WCBL season.

Scoring for the Olympian’s, besides Pace and Nan, was Tyree Jones 20; Wei 11 and Zhang Songtao’s 10 points/12 rebounds.

For the Surf, besides Prince, Reynolds, Williams and Harris, was Murray’s 25 points/11 rebounds; Russell’s 17; Dawson’s 15 and guard Harry Lum’s 7 assists and 7 rebounds.
Both teams were effective at the charity stripe, the Surf netting 22-27 and the Olympian’s 26-33. The Surf led in rebounds 50-42.

For the VC Jets, Tree Small, last year’s WCBL scoring champion, scored 21 points and 6 rebounds. Topping the Jets scoring list was Elijah Muldrow with 27 points on 5 of 8 3 point attempts; Casey Cook with 15 points and 6 rebounds and Donte Lincoln adding 11.
Beijing will be back in league action Wednesday night, April 8 with a home game against the Newport Beach Surf. Game time is 705pm.

The Santa Barbara Breakers of the West Coast Professional Basketball League announced that October 2008 signee Gabriel Hughes has signed with the Los Angeles DFenders of the NBDL, the NBA’s developmental league.

Hughes, 7’0, 260 pounds is a 2003 graduate of the University of Cal-Berkeley. He has played overseas in Romania, Spain, UAE and Japan.

Hughes recently played for the Breakers averaging 12 point, 10 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per contests during the 2008 fall season. On January 6th, 2009, he started for the DFenders against the Utah Flash, the Utah Jazz’s NBDL affiliate team. in only his second game. He will share center duties with Breakers center, Rashid Byrd. Byrd, who was named WCBL Defensive Player of the Year 2008, has been with the DFenders since training camp and logging quality minutes through their first 16 games.

Both Hughes and Byrd plan to play for the Breakers when the WCBL 2009 season begins April 25.

For information on the Breakers, go to:  www.breakersbasketball.com