Young basketball players told dream big

Good turnout: Sekolah Sri USCI students who attended the AND1 basketball clinic

YOUNG basketball players who want to go far should embrace their talents and not limit themselves by being afraid to dream big.

“Players don’t dare to dream,” said former Selangor junior basketball coach Sue Teck Hua after a AND1 basketball clinic at Sekolah Sri UCSI, in Subang Jaya, Selangor.

With this year’s AND1 challenge drawing closer, Sue is helping the boys learn a few drills that focus on both individual and team skills which can help them not just during the AND1 three-on-three event, but also in their school’s co-curriculum.

The first leg of the tournament will be on June 14 at IOI Mall in Puchong, Selangor, featuring the main three-on-three event, the StarMetro slam dunk competition, shooting competition and the special “Search for AND1 streetballer” challenge.

Sue touched on ball handling, passing, defence formations, jumping techniques and core exercises during the two-hour clinic.

“The ‘shell drill’ is to prepare them for team defence during games,” explained the former junior coach, who wanted to make the clinic “not like their usual training”.

Sue also instructed the boys to practise dribbling as low as they could.

“Our players can dribble well but they are not used to dribbling low, if you can dribble the ball just a few inches off the ground, it won’t be easy for your opponent to steal your ball,” he explained.

“Most of the boys are skilled but progression is key and they have to set goals for themselves,” he said.
With this year’s AND1 Streetball challenge continuing with the same format as previous editions, basketballers can pit their skills in competition with the main three-on-three event.

They can also demonstrate their shooting and slam-dunk skills as well as freestyle skills in the “Search for streetballer” segment for a chance to win exclusive merchandise from AND1 and Milo at each leg.

The five categories for the three-on-three this year are: Boys Under-12, Boys Under-15, Boys Under-18, Girls Under-18 and Men’s Under-21.

After IOI Mall, Puchong, on June 14, the following legs will be in Penang Times Square, Penang, in August, Sutera Mall, Johor, in September and the grand final in Kuala Lumpur in November.

The exact dates for the upcoming legs and venue for the grand final will be announced on the organisers’ website.

For the grand finals, the top three freestylists from each leg will be invited to battle for the AND1 streetballer title which will come with a RM3,000 contract along with merchandise.

The first 100 teams to register before May 31 will receive a limited-edition L.A. Lakers basketball in addition to the Spalding ball for each team and AND1 jerseys for each player.

StarMetro is the official media partner of the tournament, Milo is the official beverage sponsor and Spalding is the official ball partner.

News source: The Star Online