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| June Cheng dunking over a friend during the slam dunk challenge, earning him the prize for the best dunk. |
The 11th edition of the basketball tournament, which is highly popular with youths in secondary schools, saw non-stop basketball action from more than 300 teams from 9am and well past sunset.
It was not just serious basketball for the day as highlight events such as the shooting and slam dunk competition, including the “In Search of Streetballer” challenge, took the tourney to a new dimension during lunchtime.
Competitors in the highlight events impressed the crowd and curious onlookers with their skills and entertained them with dazzling moves in the slam dunk andstreetballer segments.
With the “In Search of Streeballer” segment, Andrew Soong Loc Yang and Chong Sze Sian and Bu Juin Hong, had one-minute to impress the judges for the chance to earn themselves the title as a Malaysian AND1 streetballer.
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| Ping Loong (right) presenting the first prize to the Under-18 boys champions team Secret 18 A. |
Former AND1 streetball challenge winners Wayne Ooi, Teng Seng Fu, Tay Yu Heng, Ismadi Hamidi and Scalia Nethanial were on hand to make sure the contestant’s skills were up to scratch.
Andrew Soong Loc Yang emerged as the winner and it was a particularlymemorable achievement as he had set his eyes on the prize while participating in previous challenges.
“I feel proud and responsible, at the same time, now that I am going to be an ambassador for AND1,” he said.
The 19-year-old lad from Taman Melawati, Selangor, succeeded in impressing the judges and earned himself a RM3,000 contract along with merchandise from the organisers when he was crowned the winner.
Andrew also shared that he didn’t put in enough practice for the challenge as he would have liked but managed to blend the moves together in a smooth flow for the finals.
The crowd-pleasing slam dunk competition had each dunk drawing louder cheers and applause as the competitors put on a display of one-upmanship and high flying moves.
The two best slam dunks were provided by Lee June Cheng and Zack, who tookhome the StarMetro slam dunk trophy, Nestle hampers and Spalding baskeballs.
Nestle sports marketing manager Ng Ping Loong said he was pleased with the 2014 AND1 series, and adding that he was happy to see a great response at all five circuits of the tourney.
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| Nethanial showing the spectators what freestyling is all about. |
“We will continue to support the initiative as we see younger kids looking forward to this event and the grow into the age group next year.
“This is in line with Milo’s commitment to the development of sports with a focus to help nurture and guide the children in developing the good values found in sports as well as promote junior sporting excellence.
“For 2015, we would like to see more girls teams participating and a higher level of skills in the freestyle challenge.
“I also wish to see more parental support as I believe that sports is a great activity to strengthen family bonds and it happens to be a great teacher to the kids.” Ping Loong added.
Secret Basketball Academy coach Edison Tan Foo Onn, who enlisted his teams in the tourney previously in Klang and Malacca, arrived with 42 teams under the Secret banner.
“My students told me that they wanted to gain some competition experience, and since they loved playing basketball I gave them the chance to do just that.”
Secret Academy nabbed titles in three age groups, girls Under-18, boys Under-15 and boys Under-18 as well as a respectable fourth place in the boys Under-13 category while champions in the Under-13, 21 and 25 categories were ALS 10, Survival 21 and N.W.B. repsctively.
Tan mentioned that the under-18 team Secret 18 C had trained hard for half a year before heading in to the tourney and the final victory against Survival 18 was well deserved and he was seen by the sidelines giving his teams instructions and reminding them to keep up their teamwork and confidence.
“The opponents are actually a good team too and they put up a good fight for the boys, but the hardwork and experience of Secret 18 C players came in to play and they managed to overcome Survival 18.
A parent who wanted only to be identified as Wong said it was a good place for the kids to enjoy and have fun while socialising with like minded youths and be involved in a healthy activity at the same time.
“This is in line with Milo’s commitment to the development of sports with a focus to help nurture and guide the children in developing the good values found in sports as well as promote junior sporting excellence.
“For 2015, we would like to see more girls teams participating and a higher level of skills in the freestyle challenge.
“I also wish to see more parental support as I believe that sports is a great activity to strengthen family bonds and it happens to be a great teacher to the kids.” Ping Loong added.
Secret Basketball Academy coach Edison Tan Foo Onn, who enlisted his teams in the tourney previously in Klang and Malacca, arrived with 42 teams under the Secret banner.
“My students told me that they wanted to gain some competition experience, and since they loved playing basketball I gave them the chance to do just that.”
Secret Academy nabbed titles in three age groups, girls Under-18, boys Under-15 and boys Under-18 as well as a respectable fourth place in the boys Under-13 category while champions in the Under-13, 21 and 25 categories were ALS 10, Survival 21 and N.W.B. repsctively.
Tan mentioned that the under-18 team Secret 18 C had trained hard for half a year before heading in to the tourney and the final victory against Survival 18 was well deserved and he was seen by the sidelines giving his teams instructions and reminding them to keep up their teamwork and confidence.
“The opponents are actually a good team too and they put up a good fight for the boys, but the hardwork and experience of Secret 18 C players came in to play and they managed to overcome Survival 18.
A parent who wanted only to be identified as Wong said it was a good place for the kids to enjoy and have fun while socialising with like minded youths and be involved in a healthy activity at the same time.
