Dec 30, 2007, 7:30 pm
Quote:A benefit match has been held for a basketball player who suffered a severe brain injury in a road crash in Surrey.
Brian Dux's Guildford Heat teammates took on an All Stars side put together from the British Basketball League.
The game, which saw the home side win 108-92, raised an estimated ã12,000 for the Brian Dux Assist Fund.
The 26-year-old point guard was in a coma after the accident in Chobham, but he was flown back to his native America at the end of November.
His family said he was now "answering questions appropriately and speaking with more clarity, and starting to move his fingers slightly on his left hand".
We wanted to do something that would allow everyone to participate
Andrew Bird, Guildford Heat
"We are confident he will make a full recovery, however this will be a very long and expensive rehabilitation process," a posting on a fund-raising website said.
"We have been truly overwhelmed by all the love and support we have received from everyone," it added.
Dux has been having daily sessions of vocal and physical therapy at a hospital in Buffalo, but recently surprised Heat team-mate Daniel Gilbert by telephoning him from the United States just before Christmas.
Speaking ahead of Friday's benefit match, Guildford Heat vice-chairman Andrew Bird said: "We have been inundated with requests to help the Dux family and we wanted to do something that would allow everyone to participate."
Individual player sponsorships were available for the game at Guildford's Spectrum leisure centre, while two jerseys were auctioned off.
More fund-raising events are planned, including a collection and raffle at the Heat's game against Sheffield Sharks on 4 January.