Teo Chow Men’s Basketball Team

Teo Chow Men’s Basketball Team is the team that I used to play in LA and is one of the most competitive Chinese American basketball teams in the southern California. In the past few years, our team has created some remarkable records in several basketball leagues and tournaments. In fact, Teo Chow just won the championships in both Mofufus and CAAA leagues this winter.

Will and Phil

Wilson Fang and Phil Chien play two big roles in the Teo Chow since the first day. They started the team a couple years ago and got sponsored by Fukien Association of Southern California. In the beginning, they just wanted to go out and had fun by playing against with other teams, but the result came out that their skill level was quite higher than others.

New Sponsor

Due to different opinions and thoughts on the team, Will, Phil and rest of the players left Fukien several seasons later. Phil didn’t want to dismiss the team, so he took the money from his own pocket and keep supporting the team’s league fees. However, a talented team will never be forgotten. Phil eventually found the team a new sponsor, which is the Teo Chow Association. Sponsors from the Teo Chow Association were really supportive on developing this fabulous sport in the Los Angeles. Because of their supports, Teo Chow Men’s Basketball Team becomes very well known in the community.

Team Roster

Teo Chow’s roster includes:

• Phil Chien- Manager

Phil is now the manager of the team and he manages all the team’s business.

• Wilson Fang- Coach

Will is the coach now. He retired few years ago because of the knee injury.

• Hon Trieu- Point Guard

“Trieu” is one of the best point guards ever in the league. He trusts his
teammates and makes all the incredible assists through out the games.

• Hung Duong- Shooting Guard

Hung, also known as “H”, is an outstanding shooting guard who is also the record
holder for scored most 3 pointers in a single game in the Mofufus league.

• Vince Lee- Shooting Guard

Vince is another great shooter on the team. He had a knee surgery few years
ago, but he never lost the enthusiasm of basketball and eventually fought
back to the game again.

• Albert Chen- Guard/Shooting Guard/Forward

Albert is an amazing player. He is not only capable to shoot consistently from
3-point range, but he also can drive and post up if the team needs him. Al also
shoots a really high percentage on his free throws, which had saved the team
from losing a couple of times.

• Con Luong- Forward

Con is a quiet person who doesn’t talk much; however, his performance on the
court is completely different compare to his quiet personality. Con is a great
defender who usually has to guard the toughest player from the other team.
He is also a good cutter who always finishes the assists from his teammates.

• Jason Ridgeway- Forward/Center

Ridge is the most unstoppable player in the team. He holds the highest field goal
percentage among all the teams. When you have someone like Ridgeway on
your team roster, it is almost a guarantee for victory.

What have I learned from the team?

I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet and play with these awesome people.
They let me understand the importance of fundamentals and sharing the ball on the court. Overall, you’ll have to know and define what is your role on the court; do the best you can and trust your teammates. I really enjoyed running on the court with them and I am looking forward to play with the Teo Chow someday in the future again.

Comparison between current Lakers and 90’s Bulls

Many people like to compare the recent Los Angeles Lakers to the 90’s Chicago Bulls because they think there are many similarities between these two teams. However, the Chicago Bulls in the 90’s was a championship team that had created lots of tremendous records and histories. And the current Los Angeles Lakers is a team that has been far away from the championship for many years.

Similarities

What are the similarities between these two teams?

. First, they both have the same coach, Phil Jackson.

Phil is one of the greatest coaches in the NBA history. He successfully reconstructed the 90’s Chicago Bulls to win 6 NBA championship titles in 8 years. After he went to Los Angeles in year 2000, he made Shaq and Kobe play much more effectively together and won 3 consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002.

. Second, these two teams both have a super-star player.

Michael Jordan, who is known as the greatest basketball player in the history, could averagely scored 30 plus points in his career in the Chicago Bulls.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Lakers has Kobe Bryant, who is known as the “Black Mamba”, can be unstoppable when he is in his attack mode. He had scored 81 points against Toronto Raptors on Dec 7, 2005, which became the second highest score in the NBA history.

. Third, Lakers and Bulls are both playing Triangle Offense.

“Triangle Offense” is a great and unique strategy in basketball. It basically starts in a 1-2-2 set. Players have to space themselves apart about 15 feet. This helps discouraging double-teams and allows for short passing that will reduce the risk of interceptions. Both Lakers and Bulls are using this strategy as their main play in the game.

What is missing?

Since Lakers has several same positive similarities as 90’s Bulls, why couldn’t they win the championship?
. Lakers need “Scottie Pippen”.

Scottie Pippen, who had helped and assisted Michael Jordan when he was on and off the court. Lakers need a second role player like “Scottie” who can lead the team when Kobe Bryant is on the bench and help on scoring when Kobe is cold on his offense.

. Bench Players

Having several nice bench players is another big factor to win the championship.
Basketball is not a one-man sport. It needs a nice teamwork and gets every player involved. When Michael Jordan was suffered from the double or triple-teams, he always had someone to step up and completed his assists, like John Paxson and Steve Kerr in the 90’s Bulls. Lakers need their bench players to play confidently and consistently. They have to do all the fundamentals and complete the easy shots, but not just having too much one on one-offense and choices of bad shot.

Chinese American Basketball in Southern California

Basketball is the most common sport in the United States. You can always see teenagers or young school kids holding a basketball on the street or running games in the park. The Chinese community in southern California also attaches importance of promoting this fabulous sport to its’ nation. There are two major basketball leagues that provide an organized atmosphere with a safe, fair and competitive environment for the Chinese American in Los Angeles, which are Mofufus and CAAA leagues.

Mofufus Basketball Organization

Mofufus Basketball League started in 2001 by Johnny Phan and Kevin Su. Both Johnny and Kevin were players from an outstanding team called Alpine Striders. Because of the enthusiasm of basketball, they established the Mofufus league after they retired from the Alpine Striders. Mofufus only had one open division when it first started. It only had about 8 teams each season. In 2004, Johnny Phan decided to take over and expand the league by adding more divisions and teams. The League now has 9 divisions and about a total 70 teams each season. (Winter, Summer, and Fall.) It also holds an annual Halloween Tournament at the end of each October. Because of the effort and passion from the organization, Mofufus Basketball League now becomes one of the biggest and the most popular leagues for the Asian American in Los Angeles.

CAAA Basketball League

CAAA stands for Chinese American Athletic Association. It is the biggest association that supports sports within the Chinese community in Los Angeles. CAAA not only holds basketball league, but also has tournaments for track and field, and swimming. The founder of CAAA, “Mr. Kong”, devoted most of his energies and efforts to create a wonderful environment for the Los Angeles’s Chinese American to show their talented skills on sports. Now CAAA has a nice website and is in charged by Ace Lee, who is also a good basketball player. It has 5 divisions and approximately 84 teams in Spring and Fall each year.

Future goals

Both of these organizations are planning to bring everyone together even more often by throwing some outdoor events, such as B.B.Q at the park. They hope everyone can have fun and meet new friends not just in the gym but also during their leisure time. Best wishes to these two great organizations and hope they will keep providing us the best sports events in the future.