Carolina Cheetahs Make ABA Playoffs

(Greensboro, North Carolina): With only one game left, the Cheetahs have had a great first season. The Cheetahs are ranked 2nd in their ABA Mid-Atlantic Division. To top it all off, They are ranked #10 in the league out of 94 ABA teams nationally, which has qualified them for the ABA Playoffs coming in Mid-March.

Saturday, February 25th the Cheetahs hit the road to play their most challenging game this season against the #1 Ranked South Carolina Warriors. The Cheetahs will have to play their best game of the year to get out of this game with a win.

“The warriors are a very good team who are disciplined in their physical style of play. Coach Chris Beard is a Bobby Knight disciple, who coached with him at Texas Tech,” said Tommy Stevenson, the Carolina CATS Basketball Operations Manager, Team Owner, and Mid-Atlantic Divison Chairman. “They have everything, great inside play with their 6’9″ big players who are great offensive rebounders and can step out and knockdown 3 pt shots. The perimeter players are great passers who attack the basket and kick out to the open shooters. They are very strong in the upper body and are hard to knock off stride. But if my Cheetahs want to win a championship, this is the level of competition they will face.”

All games at this stage are critical for the Cheetahs, especially playing the #1 one team in the league and on their home court. The four teams representing the Mid-Atlantic Division in the ABA Playoffs will be 1. SC Warriors, 2. Carolina Cheetahs, 3. Lynchburg Legends, and 4. Richmond Elite. For the brackets, 1 plays 4, and 2 plays 3, so a win this weekend for the Cheetahs could change the whole dynamic.

Head Carolina Cheetahs Coach Kristina Baugh believes that her team has what it takes to win this weekend, she says, “The Cheetahs had a great week of practice gearing up for the big game. We are excited and up for the challenge, while remembering the game decides who wins and losses.”

The Cheetahs have bought back two key players to their roster including 6’7″ CJ Pigford, former UNC Charlotte and overseas professional basketball player; 6’1″ Landon Quick, former High Point University and Iceland overseas professional basketball player.

“CJ Pigford and Landon Quick are back in action for the Cheetahs and we are excited about their contributions working with the strong nucleus that we have,” says Coach Baugh. “The players have wanted this game all season and are ready to embark in one of last games of the regular season. We definitely have the pieces, if we can limit our turnovers and play as a unit, it will be an exciting night of basketball for both teams!”

The next and final Carolina Cheetah home of the season takes place Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 at Greensboro College at 7pm. They play their sister Carolina CATS team, the Carolina Jaguars from Raleigh-Durham and the game is marketed as ‘The Battle of the CATS’ and will be dedicated to community service efforts, which is the foundation of the Carolina CATS Sports & Entertainment Group.
For more information about the Carolina Cheetahs, including team photos, news, video, and game schedules, please visit www.carolinacheetahs.com to connect, share and buy tickets online.

About the Carolina Cheetahs Professional Basketball Team:
The Carolina Cheetahs ABA organization is a local expansion franchise that began play for their first season November 2011. The organization is dedicated to providing affordable, family-fun entertainment to the community; in addition to providing local athletes an opportunity to play on a professional level. The Carolina Cheetahs represent the greater Piedmont Triad communities of Greensboro, Winston Salem, and High Point. The organization will give back to its community by providing scholarships, basketball camps and empowerment camps for children and their parents and classes on financial freedom. The Cheetahs are one of three teams owned by the Carolina Cats Sports & Entertainment Group Inc, the other two being the Raleigh-based Carolina Jaguars and the Rocky Mount-based Carolina Cougars.

About the American Basketball Association, Inc. (ABA):
The ABA is the largest professional sports league in the US with over ninety (94) teams based in the US and internationally. It is also the most diverse professional sports league in history with over 75% of its teams owned by women and minorities. The ABA has made professional basketball fan-friendly and affordable and it teams are committed to working closely with the youth in their communities. The ABA provides over 1000 players, 200 coaches and 200 referees the opportunity to work and compete at the professional level. The league announced its new ABA Classics Division, a celebrity-backed prize money league that will begin summer 2012; the WABA, a women’s league that began play January 2012, ABA Global, its international initiative and the ABA Entertainment League featuring top entertainers, directors, producers and former NFL, NBA, MLB players that began in October 2011