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HERE COMES TEAM TROUBLE
ABA team opening home play Saturday, Sunday at Lathrop High
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American Basketball Association takes place at Lathrop High this Saturday and Sunday.

Team Trouble is back.

This time, the local team of the American Basketball Association will be playing its fast-paced brand of basketball at Lathrop High and East Union High.

“We were welcomed with open arms by (City of Manteca) Mayor Steve DeBrum,” said General Manager Javon Bankston, who also worked with the athletic directors at Lathrop High (Chuck Selna) and East Union High (J.J. Ramirez) in securing both venues.

Team Trouble opened the 2018-2019 season last weekend by topping the Contra Costa Delta Stars 144 –102 and downing the Oakland TownHawks 131-101 to jump out to a 2-0 record. 

Marshall University alumni Shawn Smith led Team Trouble against Contra Costa on Saturday with 28 points. Tim Howell, and Christian Williams each added 19 points. On Sunday against Oakland, Howell and Smith each scored 29 points for Team Trouble against Oakland while Mike McChristian had s2 points.

 Last year was the inaugural season for Team Trouble that played their home games in Stockton.

 “James Paul (the owner) saw a lot of talent here that he wanted to put together (an ABA) team,” said Bankston, who referred to the ABA as a fast-paced, guard-driven league – rules for the 140-team league consists of a seven-second clock along with an extra point each on 3-pointers, layups and mid-range shots but only when the 3-D light is turned on. 

Players of Team Trouble are from the Manteca / Lathrop and Stockton area.

Among the notables are Michael Nunnally (East Union), Jorge Castro (Manteca High), Christian Williams (Sierra High) and Walter Jackson (Weston Ranch), to name a few.

Team Trouble finished last year with an 18-4 record, losing to the San Diego Kings in the divisional championships while earning an No. 9 national ranking, according to Bankston.

The local ABA squad, in addition, will:

uTip off at home for the first time this season at 6 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 10) against the Sacramento SuperKats at the Lathrop High gym.

uPlay host to the Contra Costa County Delta Stars the next day (Sunday, Nov. 11) at 2 p.m.

Tickets for home games are $10.

Team Trouble is currently ranked No. 7 in the ABA.

For more information, call 209.405.0685, 209.479.8668, or log on to www.teamtrouble.net.