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Maya Fok contributed three points, two assists and one steal in the championship game. Photo by Ethen Lieser.
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Fok Leads Golden State to Second Place Finish in Pro-Am
By Ethen Lieser
AsianWeek Staff Writer
On a broiling Saturday afternoon in San Francisco, Bay Area basketball fans received some much-needed respite inside the Haight’s Kezar Pavilion. Over 200 people crammed into the damp, dimly lit gymnasium as they anticipated the Women’s Pro-Am League championship game between San Francisco and Golden State.
Fans, however, started sweating again when Golden State point guard Maya Fok took the floor. Her rhapsodic style of play — crazy, yet somewhat controlled — left everyone in Kezar Pavilion in a muggy state of mind. What was that blur? Was it some type of genetically altered species? The way Fok zigzagged around the court, she definitely wasn’t human.
It would take a person twice her size to absorb the two charges she took in the game. They were bone-crushing blows, smashing her back against the hardwood floor so hard that it had to have made all witnesses grimace. Not one second passed, however, before Fok was up on her feet again, brushing off the collision as if it were a mosquito on her arm.
This is Maya Fok’s game.
Fok will not shower you with 3-pointers. She will not bother with the superfluous behind-the-back, no-look prayers. She is just here to win.
Her will, packed into a muscular 5-foot-5 frame, wasn’t enough to overcome team San Francisco, however, which used brute strength and perimeter touch to bedraggle Golden State, 73-54, in the championship game. But for Golden State to be in the position it was in was a cause for celebration. Golden State finished the season fifth in the seven-team league with a 3-3 record.
But behind Fok’s determined effort and leadership, Golden State rolled through the playoffs with victories over favorites Bay City and Bay Tide. Then on championship afternoon, the team sundered. San Francisco, who finished in first during the regular season with a 5-1 record, received an automatic berth in the championship game.
“It was a bit of a surprise to be here,” Fok said. “But we were confident that we could match up with them.”
Golden State scored the first two points of the game, but that was the last lead they would have the entire game. San Francisco quickly scored eight straight points, and Golden State had to call a timeout. With 9:51 left in the first half, Fok took her first charge of the game and for a moment, Golden State seemed primed to make it competitive as they pulled within four.
But San Francisco went on a 9-0 run to make it 23-10 with 8:16 left, which prompted another Golden State timeout. At halftime, Golden State was in the middle of a shellacking, down 38-18.
“We weren’t hitting our shots in the first half and we weren’t getting any motion,” said Fok, who completed her collegiate basketball career at UC San Diego last winter. “It was very stagnant. We’re not going to be able to beat a team like that by standing around on offense.
“It’s hard to come back when you’re 20 points down at half.”
It was more bad news in the second half, as San Francisco’s flawless transition offense continued to quell any Golden State run. With six minutes left, San Francisco was up 67-43 for its largest lead of the game and put the game out of reach. When the final buzzer sounded, the championship was San Francisco’s second straight and third in the last four years — a dynasty in the making.
“It feels great,” said Darlene Yee, thecoach of San Francisco who played basketball for San Francisco State University a decade ago. “I think our team came together really well. We have incredible athletes on this team, and they responded really well with each other. I think we had better athletes than any other team.”
Fok finished with three points, two assists and one steal.
“I think Maya played really well today,” Yee said. “She shot a little more that she usually does, but she came to play.”
But her real job, to run the offense, never got in sync. Fok blamed lack of practice time, which limited how much the team could gel. And with the high level of talent in the league, Fok wasn’t able to give all her scorers the needed touches.
“All the players in this league are leading scorers on their college teams,” she said. “So it’s hared to give everyone equal looks. When someone is hot, you have to get her the ball. But at the same time, you can’t let the other players cool off and not get a touch.”
Maybe Fok should abdicate her point guard duties to another teammate. She was incandescent the entire game.
Reach Ethen Lieser at elieser@asianweek.com.
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