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Santa Ana Thunder getting ready for TBL season
Head coach Cliff Levingston and his assistants were out in force Monday morning, overseeing the training camp of the new Santa Ana Thunder; the camp and two games this weekend are being held in the Tamaya Wellness Center. (Herron photo)
SANTA ANA PUEBLO — Maybe you can’t hear the Thunder yett, but the enthusiasm is slowly building in the metro area as a new entry in The Basketball League gears up for its March 15 debut in the Tamaya Wellness Center on Santa Ana Pueblo.
The first regular-season game* is vs. the 2022 TBL champs, the Shreveport Mavericks, who were bounced out of last year’s postseason by the eventual champs, the Potawatomi Fire.
Game 2, on March 16 at 7:30, also features the Mavericks.
The Thunder then hit the road for their next two games, March 22-23, at the Wichita (Kan.) Sky Kings and Enid (Okla.) Outlaws, respectively.
Training camp has been underway for a while, and the roster will soon be thinned out in time for the preseason games being played Friday and Saturday (Feb. 23-24) in Tamaya Wellness Center, 225 Ranchitos Road, as part of The Black Chamber Classic.
Game times Friday are 1 and 4 p.m., with the Thunder facing the Albuquerque Bullsnakes in the latter contest. On Saturday, games will be played at 9 a.m. and noon, with the Thunder taking on the Long Beach Bluewaves in the second game.
Tickets cost $10 for a single game, $17 for a day pass and $30 for a weekend pass.
The first 200 fans each day will receive a Black Chamber T-shirt.
Black Chamber steps in for preseason
Karla Causey, who once thought of herself as retired until what might be termed “divine intervention” led her to become the president and CEO of what became the Black Chamber of Commerce of New Mexico, says her chamber is on board to help the Thunder succeed, as it has done for other minority-owned businesses in the past.
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She spent 25 years, after graduating from Albuquerque High (11974) and the University of New Mexico, working at Sandia Labs, followed by a six-year stint at PNM.
After 10 years of retirement, “The Black Chamber called and asked me if I would be interested in being the president and I told them no,” she said. “They said, ‘We really need you,’ but I knew the time and effort that it would take, cuz it was a new organization.
“They said, ‘No, Karla, we really need you,’ and I said give me a week and do some thinking and I’ll let you know.
“That was on a Tuesday, and I didn’t tell a soul. I just said, ‘God, what do you want me to do?” she continued.
Out of the blue, a longtime friend arrived in Albuquerque and called her, saying, “God told me to call and tell you to be at peace with this decision you’re pondering because of him.”
“So, I put my name in the hat and was hired on July 1, 2022. We were just in the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce at the time, and after being here for four months I went to the board of directors and told them we have too much to offer to just keep it to the Greater Albuquerque (C of C) … and we are officially the Black Chamber of Commerce of New Mexico, so we’re helping businesses all over the state of New Mexico. So, while I target the Black population, I help other under-served, under-resourced (entities) that don’t have another avenue to go to.”
Hence, the Black Chamber’s sponsorship of the Thunder.
“They came to me about being a sponsor for the Classic.”
As is usually the case, local teams need all the support and all the sponsors willing to jump on board.
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*Other home dates for the Thunder:
April 4 & 6 vs. Potawatomi Fire
April 20-21 vs. Texas 76ers
May 10-11 vs. Enid Outlaws
May 23-23 vs. Wichita Sky Kings
For more information, visit thebasketballleague.net.
