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Foreigners turn up the heat By NG WEI LOON *star metro.
FOREIGN students pursuing their tertiary education in Malaysia turned up to add excitement to the third leg of the AND1 Streetball Challenge at AEON Bandar Bukit Tinggi in Klang on Sunday.
The HELP University College trio of Micheal Ogheneme, Temitope Ahmed and Belmar Mabhena teamed up with Meka Samuel from Nigeria to feature in the open run at the tournament’s centre court.
Besides the foreigners, the three previous winners of the In Search of the Freestylists — Nabil Ra’uf Harun, Anirudh Aravind and Mohd Ismadi Hamidi - also joined the occasion on the bigger playing area set up with gravity-defying slam dunk stand at each end.
The 22-year-old Mabhena from Zimbabwe, who has been residing here for more than a year, said it was a great experience to be part of an established three-on-three outdoor basketball event.
“We have been playing together for our college team. It was fun entertaining the youngsters and inspire them to emulate our moves,” he added.
The HELP University College trio of Micheal Ogheneme, Temitope Ahmed and Belmar Mabhena teamed up with Meka Samuel from Nigeria to feature in the open run at the tournament’s centre court.
Besides the foreigners, the three previous winners of the In Search of the Freestylists — Nabil Ra’uf Harun, Anirudh Aravind and Mohd Ismadi Hamidi - also joined the occasion on the bigger playing area set up with gravity-defying slam dunk stand at each end.
The 22-year-old Mabhena from Zimbabwe, who has been residing here for more than a year, said it was a great experience to be part of an established three-on-three outdoor basketball event.
“We have been playing together for our college team. It was fun entertaining the youngsters and inspire them to emulate our moves,” he added.
Elevation: Nigerian Meka Samuel leaping up to sink a basket.
Local rapper Dareyno from Rough Sound Entertainment also thrilled the spectators with his entertaining tunes and antics for the event that drew a full house turnout of 300 teams in six categories - boys’ Under-13, boys’ Under-15, boys’ Under-18, boys’ Under-21, girls’ Under-15 and girls’ Under-18.
The organisers also gave away several prizes to the lucky draw winners before the proper tournament commenced.
And team TC in the boys’ Under-15 contest were the biggest winners as they took home the half pair of shoe signed by AND1 MixTape icon Jerry Dupree, who is fondly referred to as the Assassin.
The visitors also took the opportunity to pick up a bargain purchasing the previous editions of the challenge’s jerseys priced between RM10 and RM30 each.
Ossia World of Golf executive director Saw Swee Leong said they would be conducting sales for the remaining two legs scheduled at Esplanade, Penang (Aug 9) and Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur (Oct 25).
“We will be channelling part of the proceeds from the initiative to a deserving charity organisation,” he added.
The Milo booth geared up with the Nintendo Wii video games requiring the participants to simulate actual physical actions was also a hit with the visitors.
Meanwhile, last year’s grand final qualifier Yap Tee Shen provided a minor sparkle with a brief flash of ball handling brilliance in the Milo In Search of Freestylists contest.
It was the 17-year-old SMK Dato Hamzah, Klang student’s second attempt to have another crack at the grand final in Berjaya Times Square.
Uplifting experience: Temitope Ahmed from Nigeria hoisting 10-yearold Yap Chun Ann to execute a slam dunk.
“Today, I am delighted that I managed to pull off the slow motion moves. I will be perfecting my skills to deliver a more polished routine for the upcoming competition,” said Yap.
Even the event’s long-serving deejay, DJ Shai (N. Saravanan) also could not resist giving seasoned campaigner Hassan Marialis a hard time and reiterated the 20-year-old contender’s persistence in trying to have a crack to be among the top three winners at the grand final.
However, SMJK Kwang Hua student Koh Zheng Zhe said he was surprised to pick up the final slot for a showdown at the season’s grand finale.
The 14-year-old admitted he had a tough encounter against Hassan in the one-on-one duel.
“I found it hard to deceive him because he shut me down with his better reach,” said Koh, adding that he has been keen following freestyle since he was in Year Six because of the freedom to express himself on the court.
A total of 12 competitors from the first four legs will be vying to finish as the top three freestylists of the season and are in the running for with AND1 equipment sponsorship worth RM3,000 each.
Among the partners for the sixth edition of the challenge sanctioned by Malaysian Basketball Association (MABA) are Milo (official beverage), StarMetro (official media) and Fly Fm (official radio).
> BOYS’
- Under-13
Final: DNA Fire bt DNA Ice 9-3
Third-Fourth: First Blood bt Dear Boys 5-0
- Under-15:
Final: DNA Blue bt DKJ 6-2
Third-Fourth: Jen Yu 1 bt KX1 9-2
- Under-18:
Final: Joanne bt 1st Come 1st Serve 6-4
Third-Fourth: PD4 bt Super Mouse 2-1
- Under-21:
Final: Survival bt Low Kian Hoew 5-0
Third-Fourth: Water Fish 21 bt Magic 4-2
> GIRLS’
- Under-15:
Final: Hin Hua bt The Scorpion 6-2
Third-Fourth: Jen Yu B bt Y Salg 8-2
- Under-18:
Final: Super Star bt Survival A 7-2
Third-Fourth: Lucky 7 bt PD5 4-1
