AND1 MALAYSIA

Rain fails to dampen spirits at Streetball eventWednesday June 30, 2010 By Y.P. SIVAM metrospt@thestar.com.my P hotos by AZLINA ABDULLAH THE heavy downpour did not dampen the spirit of the participants during the third leg of the AND1 Streetball Challenge at the AEON Jusco in Bukit Tinggi, Klang recently.
The participants, numbering about 500, lined up as early as 7am to register for the challenge, organised by Ossia World of Golf, the distributors of AND1 brand in Malaysia, with WCT Land providing the venue.

Ardent fans: The spectators were entertained with some exciting encounters.
Ossia World of Golf executive director Saw Swee Leong said they were surprised with the participants’ enthusiasm.



“We were quite worried when it rained. But the player were more interested in being part of the challenge. Luckily the rain stopped and the challenge proved to a hit among the participants. We were also impressed with the spectators interest in the event,’’ said Swee Leong.In the thick of action: The boys Under-21 final between Black Wizard and Taman Chi Liung in progress.
About 350 teams took part in the challenge with six categories- boys’ Under-13, boys’ Under-15, boys’ Under-18, boys’ Under-21, girls’ Under-15 and girls’ Under-18 — and there were teams from as far as Pahang and Malacca.
A parent John Low praised the organisers for initiating the challenge as it provided a platform for juniors to hone their skills.
“We hope to see more similar events being held. The youngsters will be able to be involved in healthy activities,’’ said John.
The five-leg challenge is sanctioned by the Malaysia Basketbal Association (MABA). Milo is the official beverage, StarMetro the official media, FlyFM and OneFM the official radio and Doublemint the official chewing gum.
The participants also were given the chance to demonstrate their skills in the freestylist and best shooter competitions. Some participants went home with AND1 merchandise which were offered as lucky draw prizes.
Freestylist Mohd Ismadi Hamidi was also present and delighted the crowd with his basketball skills.Future stars: Yong (left) and Gan were the winners of the Metrostar Most Promising Player award.
Two young players - Yong Fook Oon and Gan Teck Hwa - were selected as the Metrostar Most Promising Players of the challenge. The duo will get the chance to train with the MABA junior squad.
The winners in the Doublemint freestylist competition were Mohd Razin. Yee Zi Chian, Mohd Azim and Law Chin Hui.
The next leg of the challenge will be in Penang on July 11 followed by the grand finals at the Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 8.
Swee Leong said they were expecting a big turn out for the Penang leg as well as the grand finals. RESULTS
Boys
Under-13: Jenjarom Boy bt RAUB 3-2.
Under-15: Survival B bt Survival D 4-1
Under-18: GVK 2 bt GVK 3 4-3
Under-21: Black Wizard bt Taman Chi Liung 4-1
Girls
Under-15: Potato team bt Lucky EME 6-2.
Under-18: Lucky 7 bt Jen Yu 3-2