Pottstown Flames get back in action this weekend
Semi-professional basketball has come to the Pottstown area. And it’s here to stay. The Pottstown Flames Organization gets back in action this weekend after a two-week break from their regular-season schedule.
The Flames, a newly-founded local semi-professional team affiliated with the American Basketball Association (ABA), host the York Buccaneers on Saturday, January 27, then follow it up with a Sunday game at home against the Reading Wizards. Both games tip-off at 6 p.m. and will be played at Coventry Christian School in Sanatoga. Entrance fee is $10.
Now in its first season, the Flames joined the ABA with a focus on quality basketball and a standard to serving the Pottstown community. Since their startup last February, the Flames have spent time working with various groups throughout the community.
The team was founded by Reading, PA native Stephen Bergman and is coached by Ronnell Durante.
Among some of the standout players are Marquis Marshall, a 6-6 wing and Berks Catholic graduate. Marshall, the son of NBA player Donyell Marshall, went on to play at Towson, East Stroudsburg and Alvernia, where his career was nearly cut short by a back injury. He persevered through his senior season in 2017, averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds per game while being named a preseason All-American and Middle Atlantic Conference (MACC) Player of the Year.
Among some of the notable players are 5-11 guard Matthew Rhodes (Berks Catholic grad; Reading/Sullivan County Community College), 6-0 guard Christian Lopez (Reading), 6-4 guard Ta-Jahn Walton (Reading, Harrisburg Area Community College), 6-0 guard Gil Benz (Reading, Albright College/ Lackawanna College), 6-3 guard Lorde Zackery Vouse (Reading, Reading Community College) and DayQuan Williams (Reading, Millersville University).
Since its relaunch in 1999, the ABA has grown to become the largest professional sports league in the world. The ABA was established in 1967 and merged with the NBA in 1976 (New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets). Some of the ABA’s most notable players were Julius Irving, George Gervin, Ricky Barry and Moses Malone along with several others. The ABA was reformed in 2000 in partnership with the NBA and has been operating in harmony since.