Olympian Defeats Navigators
December 30, 2005 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Tacoma Navigators News Release
Tacoma, WA. The ABA Aoshen Olympian rode a 27-point first-half performance by former Seattle Sonics guard Fred Vinson, that included seven three-pointers, to a 59-48 halftime advantage, then fended off two third period runs and cruised to a 119-101 victory over the Tacoma Navigators Thursday night at Mt. Tahoma High School. The Olympian improved to 7-1 on the season while Tacoma dropped to 7-4. Tacoma had no answer on either end of the court for Vinson and the very tall, very talented Chinese squad led by 6'9" guards Sun Yue and Huang Hai Bei who contributed 20 and 19 points respectively. Vinson finished with a game-high 32.
Tacoma got off to a 10-6 lead on two quick post baskets from power forward Dontay Harris and three ponters by guards Tim Ellis and Jamal Miller, but could not cope with the height and agility of Beijing's lineup, which included 6'10" post player Paul Shirley who tallied 17 points, and 7'1" Zhang Song Tao, who, incredibly, is listed as a guard. Early on, it looked like Tacoma might have an advantage with its smaller lineup with deft three-point shooting from guards Rashaad Powell and Jim Rainwater, along with Ellis and Miller. But, when Vinson began draining his threes (5 of 6 in the second period alone), and Zhang, Sun and Huang matched nifty post play with a pair of long-range jumpers of their own, it became evident that the mostly-Asian squad was having a superior night.
Ellis and Harris posted double-doubles for Tacoma with 21-points and 11 boards from the guard and 18 points and 15 rebounds for the forward. Point guard Jamal Miller put on a second half show of his own, scoring 25 points, including four three-pointers and two runners in the paint challenging the Beijing big men. Miller finished with 30 points and six assists.
Beijing and Tacoma conclude the two-game set tonight at 7pm at Mt. Tahoma High School. As always, Navigators sponsor and Mountain Mitsubishi owner Steve Hiatt, Jr. is providing complimentary $12 reserved seat tickets at his dealership at 7030 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma WA. General admission tickets are $5 and will be available at the door. For more information, please visit www.tacomanavigators.com or call 206 686 4636, ext 11 or visit www.abalive.com.
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.
• Discuss this story on the American Basketball Association message board...
American Basketball Association Stories from December 30, 2005
- Skyrockets Launch Off Players to International Teams - Minot Skyrockets
- Olympian Defeats Navigators - Tacoma Navigators
- Olympian Rides Wave of Three-Pointers to Win Over Navigators - Tacoma Navigators
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.
