When Ameela Li first stepped into the Piedmont High School gymnasium in 2013, the 5-foot-6 guard didn’t strike Bryan Gardere as someone who would lead his team back to the state tournament.
“I wasn’t really familiar with her game,” the girls basketball coach admitted of the junior transfer from Oakland Technical High School. “But it only took one time watching her play to see her motor.”
A decade later, Li’s drive hasn’t dimmed. And once again, Gardere is along for the journey.
This week, the guard and coach will fly to Medellín, Colombia, to compete in the Women’s Basketball League Americas club tournament, representing the East Bay-based Women’s Premier Basketball Association. The FIBA-sanctioned event is a chance for the third-year WPBA, which will compete in the eight-team tournament as the Bay Area Phoenix, to showcase its talent on a global stage. For Li and Gardere, it’s another shot at glory.
During a Thursday evening practice at Laney College in Oakland, Li worked on her jump shot before leading three-on-three fast-breaks. Gardere urged his team to push the tempo. Most of the players have jobs away from basketball, so the focus has been on getting them into game shape.
“It’s going to be a long week,” Li, 27, said. “I want to put on for WPBA. Make a name for ourselves.”
The tournament is split into Group A, which was played Sept. 13-15 in Argentina, and Group B, which opens Friday in Colombia. The Phoenix plays three days in a row against Pioneras de Delicias (Mexico), Salvadorenas B.C. (El Salvador) and Indeportes Antioquia (Colombia). Two teams from each group advance to the November finals.
“It’s crazy,” Gardere said of being the first United States team to play in the second-year event. “We’re excited for this trip. This is big time.”
Earlier this month, WPBA founder Faatimah Amen-Ra hosted a mixer in Oakland to raise funds for the team’s trip. A watch party for Saturday’s game against Salvadorans (3:30 p.m. start) will be hosted by Oakstop at 1721 Broadway in Oakland.
“She’s done an amazing job,” Gardere said of Amen-Ra, an Oakland native who is also a guard on the team. “She’s trying to figure out the player-slash-commissioner role. It’s hard — to have the energy to do both and still be productive on the court, and return every email and find sponsors and do all these wonderful things.”
Other players on the team include guard Rebecca Harris, a Bay Area transplant who starred at the University of Illinois before playing professionally overseas; guard Danielle Robinson, a San Jose native who brings WNBA experience; and Stockton native Aquira DeCosta, who played collegiately at Baylor and has represented the United States in 3-on-3 FIBA tournaments.
“Any opportunity to stay on the court and mix it up with a great group of women, I’m all for it,” said Harris, who grew up playing basketball on military bases around the world before her family settled in Illinois. “It’s a great opportunity for the Bay Area and to, you know, put some things on the map. So I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Gardere states that this is the most talented team he’s coached. This fall will be his 23rd season at Piedmont High. His teams regularly compete for state titles. His top players head to Division I programs. Each summer, the Piedmont gymnasium becomes a sanctuary for women from all over to improve their games. While watching over practice at Laney College, the coach beams with pride.
But back in 2013, things were a bit different.
Gardere’s teams were winning, but the high school coach was frustrated with some of his players’ attitudes. Many of them were being sidetracked by “gimmicky training stuff” they saw on the internet.
“I just felt the kids were shifting a little bit,” the coach recalls. “I don’t know what it was.”
Then, Ameela arrived.
“It kind of recalibrated me,” Gardere said of Li, who attended Montera Middle School before her two years at Tech. “It put energy back in me because she was a throwback kid. She plays hard, no attitude, shows up every day, competes on every possession. Just old school. Really old school.”
Li led the Highlanders to consecutive Division IV state tournaments. As a senior, she averaged 24 points and Piedmont High reached the Northern California title game. Li played Division I basketball at University of the Pacific in Stockton, then professionally in Hungary in 2019.
The pandemic shut down travel in 2020, and Li stepped away from professional hoops. She began her career in finance, first working with The Clorox Company and currently for the Oakland A’s as a senior financial analyst. In 2021, she joined Gardere at Piedmont High as an assistant coach.
“He always starts with the basics and fundamentals,” Li said of Gardere’s coaching style. “And I think that’s the core foundation of building a player up at any level.”
In 2022, Li joined the upstart WPBA, a semi-professional summer league that Amen-Ra had created as an opportunity for women to build their resumes in hopes of signing with professional teams overseas. Li had stayed in basketball shape by playing in open runs at Piedmont High, and in the San Francisco pro-am summer league.
“I knew there was a lot in the tank,” she said.
Gardere joined the WPBA as a coach. Last month, Li and Gardere helped the Bay City Blaze capture the WPBL crown, with Li earning MVP honors at the Tournament of Champions.
“They have great vibes,” Harris said of Li and Gardere. “I’ve been close to a lot of my head coaches, and that connection is special. Their connection obviously stands the test of time.”
Photos by Nick Lozito