Thanks For Star Metro : Story By STUART MICHAELPhotos by SAMUEL ONG
The first leg was held at the Summit USJ on March 26 followed by the second leg at Giant Tampoi in Larkin, Johor on May 26 and Komtar, Penang on June 24. The fourth leg was held at WCT Land office car park in Bandar Bukit Tinggi yesterday.A total of 300 teams competed in six categories – Girls’ Under-15, Girls’ Under-18, Boys’ Under-13, Boys’ Under-15, Boys’ Under-18 and Boys’ Under-21.
Got it: A player (left) jumping up to shoot during the preliminary round of the AND1 Streetball Challenge.
Nigerians Masi Godswill, 18, and Omoare Gilbert Taiwo, 21, from University College Sedaya International (UCSI) joined their friend from Ghana, Samuel Amoh Junior, 21, from Rima College to form a team called Honey Dip to compete in the Boys' Under-21 category here.
Godswill said this was the first time they were taking part in the AND1 Streetball Challenge and were excited over the event.
“Many of the participants here are friendly and look upon our team as a favourite. There is great hip-hop music and the rain in the morning made it cooler for us to play, unlike the usual humid weather.
We left our houses at 5am by cab to be here as early as possible so as not to miss out on the action. We are really looking forward to playing with teams here and gain some experience,'' said Godswill, whose team took part in the University College Basketball League four months ago.Amoh Junior, joined the Search of Freestylists competition.
All red: The players clad in their red jerseys at the AND1 Streetball Challenge in Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang, yesterday.
Matthew Lin Deren, 13, who celebrated his birthday on July 29, received a AND1 Shoe and a AND1 Mixed Tape as birthday presents from the organisers during the briefing of players in the morning.“This is the best birthday present I have received and what better way can there be to celebrate my birthday than with my basketball buddies here,'' said Matthew, a Form One student from Klang High School.
Ossia World of Golf executive director Saw Swee Leong said the AND1 Streetball Challenge was still going strong with youngsters still wanting to take part in the competition despite an absence of four months.
Warning up: Amoh Junior practicing his moves as Godswill (left) and Taiwo look on
“We also received overwhelming response at http://www.and1malaysia.blogspot.com/ on the Internet with about 200 members and 10,000 hits.
“From the blog, there are freestylists from Indonesia and the Philippines who will come to Berjaya Times Square next month to challenge some of the Malaysian freestylists. We are looking forward to this,'' said Saw.
Milo conducted the Milo Obstacle Challenge where participants had to control the basketball with a hockey stick while going around 10 cones in the fastest time possible. The winners and losers both received prizes.
At the Nokia booth, there was shooting hoop competition with prizes given away to participants.
The next leg of the streetball challenge will be at Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 9.
The event is organised by Ossia World of Golf, the Malaysian distributor of the AND1 brand.
StarMetro is the official media, while Nokia is the official mobile phone and Milo, the official
beverage of the 2007 AND1 3-on-3 Streetball Challenge.
Games and fun at competition
STORY BY STUART MICHAEL Photos by SAMUEL ONG
THE rain that started at 5am on last Sunday morning did not dampen the spirits of the freestylists and basketball enthusiasts who came for AND1 Streetball Challenge held in Bandar Bukit Tinggi.
As the rain stopped at about 9am, the cool weather created a perfect venue for the people to chill out listening to hip hop music, doing tricks, and take part in the competition that was organised by Ossia World of Golf.
The organiser also invited Cameroon national player Chris Kuevte and national trainee Wee Chuan Chin to show some of their moves while the participants watched in awe. Last year’s freestyle winners – Choong Wai Kit, 19; Nabil Ra’uf Harun, 18, and Anirudh Aravind, 17 – were present to show newcomers that basketball was “more than just shooting hoops” and to wow them with their skills and fancy footwork. This year, the category had four new faces – Ismail Hamidi, Wayne Ooi, Khairul Anwar and Samuel Amoh Junior – who were picked as winners. Together with the four, a total of 16 players will compete in the AND1 Streetball Challenge Grand finals to be held in Berjaya Times Square on Sept 9.Up, up and away: Chris Kuevte doing a slam dunk for the benefit of the participants.
This season, the top three freestylists of the year will receive RM3,000 worth of AND1basketball product sponsorship, a Nokia mobile phone and a Milo hamper each.
One of the highlights of the competition was the In Search of M.C. Challenge, which offered participants the chance to show off their talents in rapping and hip-hop.
Ossia World of Golf executive director Saw Swee Leong said that the competition gave the participants opportunities to play, meet new people, demonstrate their skills, express themselves, and have fun.
“In fact, the winners of last year are now like celebrities as I saw them signing autographs earlier. Most of the youth here want to be in their shoes.
“We want to be different from other organisers. We are looking at roping in freestylists from Indonesia and Philippines to make this an international event for the grand finals in Berjaya Times Square.
“Currently, we are looking at ways to make this event bigger, better and more challenging next year,” he said
StarMetro is the official media, while Nokia is the official mobile phone and Milo, the official beverage of the 2007 AND1 3-on-3 Streetball Challenge.
Rising stars: The winners in their respective categories posing after the competition.
