When the staff from the All Star Girls Report Summer League approached the Golden City program last year, the two sides weren’t able to work it out. In 2016, the League was a great fit for the California based club.
“When we first hear about the League, I talked to several of the coaches who were in the League and they were all positive about the experience. The biggest thing they talked about was the level of exposure,” said Golden City director Armando Pazos. “We weren’t ready to join the League last year, but the timing was perfect this year.”
Golden City will be entering its third year after changing its name from the SF Eagles. According to Pazos, this could be a breakout year.
“I really think I will have the best team I’ve ever coached,” he said. “We have four starters who are all six feet or taller, and we should have a strong summer.”
Leading the way for Golden City will be Ayzhiana Basallo (2017, 5-6, PG), IImar’I Thomas (2017, 6-0, G), Ari Abdulmassih (2017, 6-2, F) and Olga Saasolo (2018, 6-0, F). Basallo is verbally committed to Cal Poly SLO, while Abdulmassih is listed as the No. 404 recruit in her class nationally by ASGR.
“Ayzhiana is a pure point guard,” Pazos said. “She can put the ball in the bucket, but she likes assists more than points. This is her fifth year in our program, and she does a great job.
“IImar’I is our most dominant player. She is very versatile, and she can guard anyone, from the point to the post. IImar’I gets a double-double almost every game. Offensively, she can shoot, attack the basket, or post up, so she is a very tough matchup for our opponents.
“Ari is a very special player who is involved with the Ivy League schools. She is a very good three-point shooter, and she can play inside too. Ari is just a very, very versatile player.
“Olga is the muscle for our team. She gets us 10 rebounds a game, and she scores inside 12 feet. She is very strong, so she is a good rebounder and defender. Olga is the type of player who is going to do whatever the team needs done.”