This year a record breaking 80 teams have registered for the 2010 NACBAIT. With Championships to be won in 9 divisions, there is sure to be something for everyone.
Written By: Mike Mon
The Men’s Open makes a return in 2010, to give these teams something to aim for on Monday morning. This division is the most unpredictable to forecast as anyone could emerge from a pretty well balanced field. The NY Crossbearers are the top returning team from the last Open division Tourney. They aren’t the same old Crossbearers though, as new head coach Virgilio Borbo has the team playing with a little more passion as they look to come away with the hardware. F James Li is the team’s best player as he is a versatile and deeply skilled 6-1 athlete. All-NACBA SF Michael Chan scores buckets with ease, and David Zhang/Kinman Mak are rock solid G’s. The last time the NY USAB Warriors brought in a B team, that team ended up winning the whole thing in the Elite division. They’ve got Top 18’s MOP Menley Khuu to bring the scoring, fellow NACBA Top 18’er Daniel Wong to defend and fill the lanes, PG Joe Chin (Baruch) to shoot from deep, and bigs like Eli Strauss (Bard), Osman Ip (Baruch), and Kevin Quach to do everything else. This is going to be a very good USAB team. New York United East is yet another Big Apple team who has a chance to make some noise. PG’s Kauk Chin and Owen Wang are a great change of pace combination, All-NACBA PF Leighton Kuet is always good for a double double, and Tommy Zheng can hit the trifecta. Big Jason Yee does work in the paint. The Philly Suns B are moving up to the Open after 2 consecutive runner up finishes in the Friendship. It’ll be a family affair, as coach Li Fung will have 3 of his own Fung brothers and the Ngo brothers playing big roles. Mini Yu will be a sparkplug.
Washington CYC B could be the team who escapes from the scrum this year in the Open. They will have the best guard grouping in the division, with Top 18’er Kevin Lee flanked by 3 All-NACBA guards in Martin Hsieh, Caleb Lui, and Henry Chow. Ricky Choi has been playing out of his mind this whole season, with the ability to sink extradeep 3’s, and high jump to finish at the rim. Chris Lam and Jeff Yu are also good shooters, so this perimeter oriented gang will spell trouble for whoever they face. The Toronto Dragons B have a roster full of players who can play the wings, shoot the ball, and defend. They lack a whole lot of size, but they will make up for it other ways. Garvin Yeung, Matt Lum, and Adrian Wong will be the B team’s stars. Hometown favorite Markham FCCM has a top ranked backcourt duo in Darren Liu and Daniel Liu. With Tommy Cheong at the forward spot and Ken Hsiung at the 5, Markham has the tools to advance to Monday. The 8th and final team in the Open will be the Winnipeg Storm. Winnipeg hasn’t played since 2004, but they will be bringing in some reinforcements this time around. Jason Au is the only returning starter from the last go round, but Thu Tran (Manitoba), Eric Sung (Providence/Manitoba) and the highly regarded HS phenom Eric Fong will be sure to bring their A games. With a little more firepower than they had in 2004, Winnipeg could be dangerous.
|
