Company to Produce Official Basketball of the ABA INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The American Basketball Association, Inc. (ABA) (OTC:ABKB) (BULLETIN BOARD: ABKB) has selected Spalding, the world's leader in basketball equipment, to produce the famous red, white and blue basketball used by the ABA in all official games. The ball was introduced at the recent ABA All-Star game in Halifax, Nova Scotia. "We used the new Spalding ball for the games, the three-point competition and the slam dunk competition, and every player loved it," noted Joe Newman, CEO of the ABA. "There is no doubt in my mind that we have the best possible company producing our basketballs. We intend to offer several variations of the ball -- from the official ball, to replicas, to an outside rubber ball." "We are excited to have the red, white and blue basketball back on our home court," stated Dan Touhey, vice president of marketing, Spalding. "From the three-point shot to the new and exciting 3D defense, the ABA is an innovator of the game and shares our philosophy in moving the game forward. The fact that the league is growing on the international stage fits well with our global strategy." About Spalding As a Division of Russell Corporation, the Spalding Group consists of three business units: Spalding in Springfield, MA; American Athletic, Inc. (AAI) in Jefferson, IA; and Huffy Sports, in Sussex, WI. The three companies, collectively combined, are now the largest basketball equipment supplier in the world. Spalding is the official basketball supplier of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the official backboard of the NBA and NCAA, the official volleyball of the King of the Beach Volleyball Tour and the official football of the Arena Football League (AFL) and Pop Warner. For more information, visit http://www.spalding.com/. About the American Basketball Association American Basketball Association, Inc. is an Indiana corporation that is engaged in operating a professional basketball league composed of teams in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The ABA is innovative in its approach to bring diverse, family-friendly, exciting basketball to true fans. ABA also markets league-related merchandise and other products and is developing or expanding media outlets and ancillary entertainment businesses that complement the league's operations. For more information about the ABA please visit http://www.abalive.com/. To be added to the ABA news distribution list please click here: http://www.abalive.com/emailalerts.html?b=1485&1-1 Safe Harbor Statement This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of the Company's products, increased levels of competition for the Company, new products and technological changes, the Company's dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements in this news release to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting such forward-looking information. Assumptions and other information that could cause results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statement. Contact: Chris Rosgen Capital Market Relations 949.481.9739 Lynn Luczkowski Spalding 413-478-1569 or DATASOURCE: American Basketball Association, Spalding CONTACT: Chris Rosgen of Capital Market Relations, +1-949-481-9739, for American Basketball Association; or Lynn Luczkowski for Spalding, +1-413-478- 1569, Web site: http://www.abalive.com/ http://www.spalding.com/

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