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Greg Cerillo Sr. and Jr. Leading the Way

August 2, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Strong Island Sound News Release


Patchogue, NY- During the heat of the summer, baseball is on the hearts and minds (and televisions) of sports fans everywhere. America's Pastime has gone through the Mid-Summer Classic in San Francisco, Hall of Fame Induction Day in Cooperstown, and the non-waiver trading deadline. Pennant races are right around the corner.

The fans on Long Island have found time during the baseball season to concentrate on another sport that is currently in its offseason, courtesy of the Strong Island Sound. The Sound Summer Tour has continued and picked up steam.

Assistant coach Greg Cerillo has been very active in promoting the team in all the basketball clinics, camps and exhibition games that the Sound have held.

"Anyone can have a basketball camp," said Cerillo. "But we're bringing professional coaches and players. The accessibility to our coaching staff and players is what makes this important."

The Sound has made the rounds, so to speak, and have appeared at the Riverhead CAP Youth Walk; various Deer Park Community Center youth events; Town of Brookhaven youth events; Ultimate Fitness Medford basketball leagues; Smithtown Veterans youth programs and events; and St. Joseph's College Open Gym, just to name a few.

The highlight of these events is the ‘3-Point Shooting Competition.' Cerillo's son, Greg Jr., is the king of the downtown shot and has not been defeated. On June 27 at the Ultimate Fitness camp, the Sound guard hit 20 of 20 on his second round. At the North Babylon Teen Center clinic on July 16, he hit 83 out of 100 shots. 10 days later, Cerillo Jr. hit 10 of 10 at a camp held at William Paca Middle School.

"My son is a tireless promoter," said Cerillo Sr. "He has put on some shooting shows over the summer. We (the Sound) have a local guy out there promoting [the team]. The kids gravitate to him because they can relate to him. He's accomplished everything he has through hard work. The skill he brings to the table is hard work, and that's what we enforce."

Cerillo, Sr. has embraced this chance to be hands on in promoting the Sound. "Darren and Michele (Sound co-owners Cioffi and Wuestman) and Coach (Dytanya) Mixson have given me a terrific opportunity," he said. "We have taken every opportunity and never turned anyone down. If someone wants the Sound at their event, we'll be there. If it's for the good of the community, we're going to go out and play them. We haven't received a negative response yet. They [the communities] absolutely love what we're doing.

"I have to give credit to our ownership and Coach Mixson. They've utilized our local resources and we're going to build fans up one, two, three at a time. Long Island is a tough market. There are so many options. We have doubled and tripled our fan base from year one to year two. That's what we're looking to do again this year."

Members of the Sound will put their skills to the test with two exhibition contests versus local dignitaries, youth workers, campers, etc. The first game will be held on August 9 at 8:00 pm at Sunken Meadow State Park, in an outdoor game sponsored by the Smithtown Veterans Youth Program.

On August 23, members of Long Island's only professional basketball team will be at William Paca Middle School in Mastic Beach for a 6:30 tip-off, sponsored by the Town of Brookhaven.

The Sound will also play against members of the Suffolk County Police Department with the date, time and location to be announced shortly.

Brookhaven Airport Balloon Fest

Come out to meet and greet the Strong Island Sound at the Balloon Fest fundraiser being held on August 10, 11 and 12 at the Brookhaven Airport. Stay tuned for more details.

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.

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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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