Girls Basketball Team to Play China for a Good Cause

A local girls basketball team will have to rely on speed if they expect to win Wednesday against a team from China, whose average height is just under 6 feet. But both teams know it's all for a good cause.

The Panthers basketball team will have home court advantage at the , located at 1120 Roosevelt Ave., when the game begins at 6 p.m. against a team of Chinese teenage prospects from Shanghai.

The sale of $8 tickets at the gate will support efforts to find a cure for ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Check back tomorrow for photos of the event.

Panther's coach Steven Diaz said the teams agreed to donate the proceeds in part because he has been affected by the devastation that the disease can cause.

Diaz said he was inspired to join the fight against ALS because a fellow coach was diagnosed the disease and he has seen it strip away her ability to coach and attend her daughter's basketball games.

Diaz met Nancy Polisso when one of her three daughters joined his basketball team in 2004. The two quickly established a bond since both played basketball and shared an ongoing love for the sport. Polisso eventually joined Diaz's coaching staff.

Polisso helped Diaz learn to teach girls basketball and motivate the players to increase their academic achievement off the court, he said.

"She had a passion for the game," said Diaz. "She helped me out a lot."

But once afflicted with the disease, Diaz said Polisso was forced to step away from basketball.

ALS is a relatively rare disease that attacks a person's brain and spinal cord, often causing victims to lose control of muscle movement. The disease gained recognition in 1939 after baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig publicly announced he had the disease. It is life-threatening and there is no known cure for it.

Diaz said he remains friends with Polisso. She is no longer able to be involved in her daughters' developing basketball careers due to the toll the disease has taken on her.

So Diaz said he jumped at the opportunity to help contribute to finding a cure for the disease.

"This is an exhibition game that turned into a fundraiser in order to make money for a positive cause," said Diaz.

The Panthers team is a nonprofit organization. Diaz takes girls from across the Bay Area who may have a future playing basketball and helps coach and train them.

Local players such as 's Balou Mattioga, Alaina Woo and Sydney Albin will play tonight, alongside girls from Gunn High School in Palo Alto and others from the East Bay.

And though Diaz is confident in the ability of his team, he also acknowledges that the competition tonight is stiff—and tall.

The team from Shanghai is comprised of girls between the ages 17 to 19 years old whose average height is 5'11" and the tallest player is 6'5". And four of the players will compete to play on the Chinese National Women's Basketball Team.

Diaz said his team, which is comprised of girls between the ages 13 to 16 years old, will have to take advantage of its collective speed in order to win the game.

"Their team is a little older so they are a little more physical, but I have top talent," said Diaz. "I expect a good match up."

One of Diaz's players who will be asked to square off under the hoop with some of the bigger players on the Chinese squad will be Kayla Taylor of Clayton Valley High School in Concord.

And despite the size and age difference, the 15-year-old Taylor said she is is nervous, but not intimidated.

"Bring it on," said Taylor.

Taylor said she expects to play the center position, in the front court matched up against the opponents' largest players. Alongside her will be Berkeley High School's Rachel Howard, who is also ready for the big game.

"I'm pretty confident," said Howard, who plays the forward position.

Both Howard and Taylor agreed with Diaz's assessment that the Panthers should look to utilize their team's quickness in order to play an exciting style of faced-paced basketball, pushing the ball up and down the court rapidly.

Although Howard is ready to compete, the added incentive of playing basketball to benefit a charity is not lost on her.

"I think it's really cool because I'm doing something I love for a good cause," she said.