Freestylists to perform before opening match of basketball championships

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FREESTYLISTS Anirudh Arvind and Mohd Ismadi Hamidi will make their appearance in the Malaysian Invitational Basketball Championships at the Maba Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 10.

The two, who are AND1 sponsored freestylists, will show off their skills before the opening match at 6pm on Oct 10.

The event is part of the promotion programme for the grand finals of the AND1 Streetball Challange at the Berjaya Times Square on Oct 25.

Ossia World of Golf divisional manager Ong Sai Ping said they had lined up a series of events in conjunction with the grand finals.

Special: Ng (second from left), the freestylists and Ong (left) showing off the new jersey for the AND1 grand finals.

“We will also be setting up a registration counter at the MABA Stadium from Oct 7-11. The counter will be open from 6pm to 10pm. We will give away free basketballs to teams during the five days,” said Ong after unveiling the special vest for the grand finals.

The grand final is the culmination of the four-leg circuit held in Petaling Jaya, Johor Baru, Klang and Penang.

Ossia World of Golf is the organisers of the challenge while the venue sponsor is Berjaya Times Square; Milo is the official beverage; StarMetro the official media and Fly FM the official radio. The challenge is sanctioned by the Malaysia Basketball Association.

Ong said they were expecting about 400 teams to take part in six age groups — Boys’ Under-14, Boys’ Under-16, Boys’ Under-18, Men’s Under-23, Girls’ Under-18 and Open (non-Chinese)- in the challenge.

“We have been getting many calls and we expect to meet the target within the next 10 days,’’ said Ong.

Nestle Products sports marketing manager Ng Ping Loong said they were pleased with the progress of the challenge.

“The streetball challenge has grown into a big carnival. Our vision is to provide a platform for youngsters to be active in basketball.

“We are focusing on the grassroots and eventually hope the challenge will contribute to the development of basketball,’’ said Ng.

Venue: Berjaya Times Square

Date: Oct 25 (8am-6pm)

Categories (six): Boys’ Under-14, Boys’ Under-16, Boys’ Under-18, Men’s Under-23, Girls’ Under-18 and Open (non-Chinese)

Entry Fee: RM90 per team. Each player will receive a jersey and each team will be given a ball.

Closing Date: Oct 21

Prizes: Basketball shoes and goodies for the top three teams in each category.

Registration Centres:

- Hoops Station

Summit USJ (03-8023 1229), The Mines (03-8944 1428)

- Echo Park

Sunway Pyramid (03-5638 1121), Mid Valley (03-2282 0127), Times Square (03-2144 0211), Sungai Wang (03-2141 7127)

- World of Sports

Tropicana City Mall (03-7728 0620), Subang Parade (03-5631 9578)

- One Sports Trading

Klang (03-3342 9955)

Partners:

- Official beverage: Milo

- Official media: StarMetro

- Official radio: Fly Fm

- Sanctioned by: Malaysia Basketball Association (MABA)

Enquiries: 012-239 2171 (Ong), 012-977 9147 (Loh), 03-2078 8997

Website: www.and1malaysia.blogspot.com