[Editor’s Note: The Santa Barbara Breakers, champions of the West Coast Pro Basketball League, were invited by the Chinese government to play 12 games Sept. 19 through Oct. 5. This is one in a series of articles by Breakers coach Curt Pickering as he reflects on the experience.]
The much anticipated day, Sept. 16, finally arrived.
Our flight departure from Los Angeles Airport was scheduled to leave at 1:30 p.m. We departed Santa Barbara fashionably late, not by design but divine anxiety. Fortunately, for a Tuesday morning, traffic was very light on Highways 101 and 405. By 11:05 a.m., we were walking through the Tom Bradley International terminal, greeted by Breaker guard Tim Taylor, who resides in Pomona.
I stayed with each player, attempting to secure emergency row and bulkhead seating for additional leg room. Not that it did a lot of good for 7-foot-5-inch Keith Closs. The former center for the Los Angeles Clippers, with long gangly limbs, was very limited in the comfort mode but made no complaints. Like the other nine players, he allowed his iPod to district him from his cramped positioning.
The 13-plus-hour flight went smoothly with no significant turbulence. Three movies were provided as well as three meals. With the 15-hour time change, we experienced daylight outside the cabin the entire flight until setting down on the runway in Shanghai at 6:30 p.m. We quickly made our way to baggage claim, climbed aboard a 50-passenger bus and within 10 minutes were ushered into a luxurious hotel that overlooked the 13 million residents of Shanghai.
After checking into our rooms, we were led to a dining room with a large round table. Waitresses brought countless dishes of food and placed them on a large round glass that spun around, giving each individual the opportunity to select what they wanted.
There was a bit of astonishment as Breaker players viewed the mysterious meat dishes. We had all discussed the awareness that China offers the cuisine dog and cat entrées. Mark Peters, point guard for the Breakers, had the look of seeing a ghost. “Hey, fellas. Some KFC would look real good right now,” he bellowed.
Eventually, the familiar sight of fried chicken, sweet and sour chicken, fish, vegetables, rice and salad filled the spinning glass table.
The following morning, we met for an 8 a.m. breakfast. At 10 a.m., we were on a bus headed for the train station in downtown Shanghai. The upside to traveling by train in China is that it travels 160 per hour and makes very few stops along the way. The downside is that there are no elevators, escalators or baggage helpers to assist up and down very steep stairs leading to the train.
We eventually made destination in Hefei. We checked into our hotel and dined in the hotel ballroom.
At 8 p.m., we left for the arena for a two-hour practice. The players hadn’t touched a basketball in five days and the thought of getting in a good run after three days of travel was pure ecstasy. After a spirited practice, the players returned to the hotel. One added highlight that evening was turning on the television and seeing Breaker player Tyler Newton playing for his Japanese Club team vs. a Chinese team.
The following morning, we took the bus for a shoot-around practice. This is normally a one-hour practice to work on shooting and walk through offensive plays. We had another spirited workout and returned to our hotel for lunch. After relaxing for the afternoon, we were ready for our first game in China. Our opponent was Baschet Club from Romania. They had finished second in their professional league the previous season. They were big, physical and could shoot the lights out from long range.
What we learned earlier that day was that the city of Qianshan, where the arena was located, was a suburb of Anquing. Quianshan was so proud as they were christening their new arena on this night and had wanted to do so with a U.S. basketball team. The mayor of the city was there. Several TV stations were present, and it was a sellout crowd of 5,000 fans. There was only one problem. It was a very humid night, and this beautiful new arena lacked ventilation or central air conditioning.
From warm-ups until the final buzzer, players were slipping and sliding on the floor, unable to get good footing for proper movement at either end of the floor. Certainly, both teams had to deal with the same conditions, but the Breakers are known for an athletic, fast-breaking, defensive pressuring style of play. That wasn’t possible on this night. The Breakers led 15-12 early in the contest, thanks to the offensive play of Kareem Abdul Jabbar Jr.’s offensive efforts and the shot-blocking and rebounding of Closs. By halftime, the Breakers were down 35-25. One galliant effort was made in the second half, tying the score at 44. But the three-point shooting of the Romanians proved the difference as they pulled away for a 64-55 win.
Although it was great to open up a new arena in the heartland of China, it was disappointing for the fans and players that the floor conditions were not conducive for quality play-win or lose.
Coming up: Game two is shown live over the entire Republic of China.
Curt Pickering is coach of the Santa Barbara Breakers.