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ABA coming to Long Island is Blessing

October 6, 2005 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Strong Island Sound News Release


ABA basketball is coming to Long Island and what a treat for local youth and the general population of the area. The ABA has produced tremendous talent from its humble beginnings from 1967 - 1976. It hosted many basketball legends such as Long Island natives Julius Erving (Dr. "J") and Larry Brown (NY knicks, Head Coach), along with a cast of NBA legends such as Moses Malone, George "Ice" Gervin, Artis Gilmore and more.

Darren Cioffi local businessman and entrepreneur brings the ABA to Long Island with the Strong Island Sound. The team name was voted on by a number of High Schools in the Suffolk County area and has brought much interest from the local communities. Mr. Cioffi who you might call a visionary has a plan to bring professional basketball into the backyards of area residents. With ten dates set at St. Joe's College in Patchouge the team looks to get off to a good start. Mr. Cioffi would also like to grant some local Long Island High Schools the opportunity to host a game at their school.

Mr. Cioffi's first move was to hire a top notch coach in Joseph Medina. Coach Medina a long Island native played for Commack North HS for the 1984 League IV Champions and was an All League, All County All-star 85'. In 1990 he then traveled to South Florida to play for Broward Community College where he was Captain of the team as well as CO-MVP on a team that won the Southern Conference Tournament Championship. He went on to graduate from St. John's University and was invited to veterans camp in the Superior League of Puerto Rico (BSN) to play for the San Juan Capitalinos in 1995. www.CoachMedina.com a veteran of minor league basketball has coached against many of the NBA's fifty greats including Rick Barry, Darryl Dawkins and Robert Parrish. He was also the opposing coach for Randy Moss

The season looks to begin play the beginning of November with 36 games and 18 of them to be played on Long Island. There will be top notch talent at affordable prices for the public and this sounds like a great opportunity to see a professional basketball game on Long Island. There will be additional postings and information on the ABA website @ www.ABAlive.com. The Strong Island Sound website will be coming soon.

Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.



American Basketball Association Stories from October 6, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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