Aukai Wong should keep wishing because his dreams eventually come true.
The 6-foot-3 guard saw his dream of playing pro ball come true when he was signed to the Hawaii Hammerheads, an American Basketball Association expansion team.
The Hammerheads start their debut season with a two-game series on the road, Nov. 26-27, at the Louisiana Cajun All-Stars and the Shreveport Flight.
Then the Hammerheads’ 18-game schedule will close with 16 games at home: Neal Blaisdell Center, Radford High’s Gym and Hilo Civic.
Wong, a 2005 Hilo graduate, gave a slam dunk shout-out to his hometown, and Kevin Williams, the president of basketball operations, secured two dates in Hilo.
It’s not even Wong’s birthday (it’s Jan. 27), but he got a belated wish come true with his Hammerheads hosting the New Jersey Express on Jan. 14-15, 2017 at Hilo Civic.
“That’s awesome,” he said.
It will be the first time a pro basketball team will play at Hilo Civic, which hosted the Harlem Globetrotters on April 22 and featured a packed house.
Of course, the Globetrotters don’t play in a pro league, but they were pros beating their amateur foils, the Washington Generals, who had one win (in 1971) to 2,495 losses.
The New Jersey Express are the exact opposite of the Washington Generals, who discontinued their run as the Globetrotters’ stooges Aug. 1, 2015.
The Express don’t fool around. They play East Coast tough with utter disregard for patty–cake fouls. Representing New Jersey, the Express have a reputation to protect.
“The Express have the longest tenure in the ABA. They are entering their 12th season,” Williams said. “They finished last year in the top five in the ABA power rankings and made the Final 8 playoffs in Texas. They will be a tough team, and the fans will enjoy seeing an East Coast team there.”
It’s a nice coincidence that the ABA is in its 50th season in 2016-17, and the Hammerheads play in the 50th state. The Hammerheads will be locally-owned by NES Sports LLC, a group of private investors located in Honolulu.
“Yes, it was 50 years ago that my partner, Dick Tinkham, and a group of businessmen came up with the idea to create a new basketball league to rival the NBA,” stated Joe Newman, ABA co-founder. “It started with some magnificent players like Dr. J, George Gervin, Spencer Haywood, Connie Hawkins, Rick Barry, and many other legends and the famous red, white and blue ball. The ABA became so impactful that four ABA teams merged into the NBA (the Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and the New Jersey Nets).
“After being dormant for several years, in 2000, the ABA returned and today is the largest professional sports league in the U.S. with 100 plus teams anticipated for the upcoming season.”
On Hawaii’s 16-man roster, there are six players with local ties: Brandon Matano, Geremey Robinson, Pi’i Minns, UH; Joel Feigler, Hawaii Pacific; Honolulu’s Kona Makaula, Shoreline College; and Wong, who gets to celebrate an early birthday next year at his homecoming.
