Saturday August 9, 2008 By MEERA VIJAYAN
JOHOR BARU: When 18-year-old Chong Liuyi Heng saw the size of his opponents during the AND1 Streetball Challenge, he shivered with apprehension as they towered over him and his team mates.
This is why he could not believe his luck when he and his friends from the Doramon team emerged champion in the finals of the Under-18 category.
“When I saw them, I thought we would be at a disadvantage and was nervous about playing against them.
The champion: Team Doramon posing after winning the competition’s Under-18 title at Danga Bay in Johor Baru recently.
“They were so tall, definitely above 1.9m compared to our 1.7m,” he said
Despite their nervousness, Chong and his friends gave the game their best shot in the allocated seven minutes.
Doramon emerged 1-0 winners at the end.
“We scored the only goal in a penalty.
“It was scary,” he said of the event at Danga Bay here recently.
Battling it out: The competition was fierce during the challenge.
Runners up and third place winners in the category were Trump Card and Milo respectively while the winners in the Under-16 category were Ice Kacang, The Rotten Lot and Sun respectively.
In the Under-14 category, Miracle, Elusive Dream and Tri O emerged winners respectively.
Present to start the competition was state MCA secretary Hoo Seong Chang who said the such games were a wonderful way for youths to forge closer ties with their peers.
“They can have fun and improve their game in this healthy activity,” he said.
Hoo noted that players of other races participated in the game known to be popular with the Chinese.
Keen fight: Participants in the thick of the game.
Johor Basketball Association president Tan Wee Sin was also present.
Organiser Ossia World of Golf executive director Saw Swee Leong said the number of participating teams had increased over the years.
“We had 275 teams in Johor Baru this year compared to about 200 last year,” he said.
StarMetro was the official media and the other sponsors were Milo and Danga Bay.
Try me: Participants in the thick of the game during the And 1 Street Ball challenge held at Danga Bay in Johor Baru recently.
AND1 JOHOR FREESTYLIST CHAMPION .
