Local Trio Staring for Nike International Team
When BABC was in the midst of their run to the Peach Jam Finals in July, three of their star players earned invitations to be a part of a Nike elite team that was planning on traveling through Brazil in August.
Jamal Coombs, Alex Oriakhi, and Phil Pressey joined some of the nation’s other top prospects including Xavier Henry, Avery Bradley, Tommy Mason-Griffin, and Tiny Gallon on a team coached by former South Kent School head coach Raphael Chillious.
The team departed the U.S. last Thursday and was scheduled to play four games, conduct a clinic, and also visit a local orphanage during their time in Brazil.
They played their first of their four games on Sunday and earned a commanding 126-50 win over a team from Brasilla. All three players with New England ties put up big numbers. Coombs was the team’s second leading scorer with 20 points (behind Henry who had 29) while Pressey ran the show with 19 points and 6 assists, and Oriakhi controlled the backboards with a game high 14 rebounds.
Oriakhi and Coombs have both been committed to Connecticut for the last two years while Pressey used this summer to prove he is one of the nation’s best pure floor generals available.
Alex Oriakhi