716ers Join the American Basketball Association

The American Basketball Association (ABA) today announced that the Buffalo 716ers has been added to its growing list of expansion teams. The 716ers will compete in the Northeast Division.

“We are thrilled to have Tawan Slaughter and her team in the ABA,” stated Joe Newman, ABA co-founder. “She has proven herself to be a great leader both on and off the court – and the 716ers will be a wonderful addition to our Northeast Division.”

For the first two years of their existence, the 716ers were members of the Premier Basketball League’s (PBL) Eastern Division. During the inaugural 2013 – 2014 season the team finished in third place in the division with an 8 – 7 record. The season did not start out promising, with the 716ers standing at 1-7 at the midway point. Those seven losses were the only ones the 716ers would see for the season before embarking on an impressive six game winning streak. On April 3, 2014 the PBL dismissed the undefeated, and two-time defending league champions Bloomington Flex. This changed the entire playoff structure, and the league announced that the second place Indianapolis Diesels would represent the Midwest Division in the finals and the Rochester Razorsharks would represent the Eastern Division.

At this time there was one remaining regular season game, which would not count for anything. The Carolina Pee Dee Vipers announced to the league they are refusing to travel to Rochester, NY for a meaningless game unless a revised playoff structure was implemented. The Eastern Division would have remained the same for the playoffs, with the Razorsharks in first, the Vipers in second, and the 716ers in third. All teams in the Midwest division would have moved up one position, making the Diesels the first place team, the Lima (OH) Express in second, and the Lake Michigan Admirals in third.

All owners, except for Dr. Sev Hrywnak, the Razorsharks owner and PBL Chairman, agreed to this proposed change. Had the PBL revised their playoff format and not declared division winners, the 716ers would have made the playoffs in their first season. The Razorsharks defeated the Express to capture the 2013-2014 PBL Championship.

The 716ers started the 2014 – 2015 season the same way they finished ‘13 – ‘14, winning the first two games and extending their winning streak to nine. The 716ers finished the season 7 – 10, good for third place in the PBL Eastern Division. Even with a sub .500 record the PBL announced that Buffalo had earned the third and final playoff spot in the division. Less than one week later the PBL announced that the Razorsharks would represent the East and the Lake Michigan Admirals the Midwest in the finals. The Razorsharks defeated the Admirals to capture the 2014 – 2015 PBL Championship.

Tawan Slaughter, owner and head coach, began developing the idea for bringing a professional minor league basketball team to Buffalo in the fall of 2012. Slaughter graduated from Christian Central Academy, Williamsville NY, where she played point guard for the Crusaders. As a four year varsity starter she broke the all-time leading scoring record with 2256 points, averaging 38.9 points per game. She started her collegiate career at Fredonia State before transfering to Buffalo State College for her final two years. Slaughter graduated from Buffalo State College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications. She continued her education at Canisius College, where she earned a Master’s of Science in Education.

Since forming the 716ers Slaughter established the Erie Hurricane, who were also members of the PBL Eastern Division for the last two season. She also formed Royalty Sports Management as a tool to help players live their dreams by playing professional basketball.

“When you have been successful in this business for three years,” stated Slaughter, “you pretty much know the ins and outs. It is refreshing to be a part of a league that celebrates all of its teams and actually allows teams to participate in the playoffs.

The 2015 – 2016 ABA season starts in November. The 716ers will host a six team preseason tournament in Buffalo prior to the start of the regular season.