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NBA Slam-Dunking into Singapore! |
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Written by Rachel Xu
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Where were you on the 31st August - 1st September? Was it another one of those run-of-the-mill weekends spent in town or idling on your leather couch? If so, I regret to tell you that you have just missed one of the most action-packed events of the year 2007!
On the 31st of August, NBA Madness Asia Tour set foot upon our sunny island bringing along a plane full of interesting characters.
Fans got to meet rising star T.J. Ford from the Toronto Raptors, smoking-hot Nets Dancers and the entertaining mascot Sly the Silver Fox of the New Jersey Nets. This summer tour aimed to bring authentic NBA interactive basketball activities to thousands of fans across Asia and boy did they succeed in doing that!
Key highlights of the 3-day event included the NBA Madness Basketball Clinic carried out by Ford, a dance competition hosted by the Nets Dancers and the showcase of the Larry O'Brien trophy amongst other things.
Basketball has been a popular youth sport in Singapore for decades and NBA has unsurprisingly garnered a huge following. Although participants of all ages were readily welcomed, the majority of the turnout was youths.
These eager hot-blooded young spirits swarmed the venue and upped the energy level with their eager participation. This sentiment was echoed by Ford who quipped, ‘I think we have achieved our aim by the looks of the turnout and the quality of the interaction we had with our fans.'
This event was spectacular in the sense that it managed to combine good ol' fun along with a great learning experience.
Participants were treated to a drool-worthy visual feast during the dance competitions as young nimble dancers teased the crowd with their moves, alongside the absolutely gorgeous Nets dancers. Don't think dancing for the NBA is an easy feat as these feisty girls have got to possess grit to go through the grueling annual auditions.
While all the grinding and pumping were going on, Ford exchanged pointers with local players while playing ball outdoors. The participants of the segment took their chance seriously and were visibly giving their best shot. Their efforts were not missed by Ford who was clearly taking the game seriously as well while dishing out invaluable tips to the participants.
The star of the event, Ford was an absolute delight, amicably sharing his views with HOOKED regarding the issue of youths. This unassuming basketball star founded the T.J. Ford Foundation in America in 2004 with the primary aim of giving back to the community through outreach programs for underprivileged youths.
A role model in many ways, Ford marvels at the privilege that Singaporean youths have in receiving a good education and feels that it is definitely an opportunity worth treasuring. He sums it up sweetly by saying, ‘Basketball is fantastic but studies should always be first.'
The action-packed 3-day event left many fans panting (literally!) for more and inspired aspiring Fords, O'Neals and Bryants to dream bigger. The 2007 NBA Madness Asia tour scored a perfect slam dunk with all the participants and HOOKED waits with bated breath to find out who will be swept onto our sunny shores the next time round. HOOKED
Pictures courtesy of:
http://youth.sg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3234&Itemid=28
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.J._Ford
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