AND 1 Live streetball comes to Rwanda

The ballistic dunks, extraordinary dribbles alongside splendid music from giant speakers is what graces most streetball events. With likes of Phillip Champion streetball tricks, AND 1 will show it all on June 10th, 2011 at Petit Stadium from 5pm-till late. The AND 1 tour is the first of its kind in East Africa. The excitement of streetball provides the best that the basketball sport has to offer. According to Ferwaba’s Technical Director Didier Shema Maboko, the AND 1 tour is aimed at boosting basketball especially amongst the youth. “During the event, we are launching a new form of a basketball game. This form of game involves three players against three opponents,” Shema discloses. He also adds that a team to be selected to play against the AND 1 team is to be named soon. Prime Sport being the company that is sponsoring the event, it will mark the beginning of its operations which include Community Championships to kick off in July this year. According to George Baguma, Managing Director of Prime Sports, the event is part of showcasing extraordinary basketball skills. “Like AND 1’s mission is to promote healthier lifestyles, stress the importance of education and encourage positive behavior in all cultures especially amongst the youth, we also want to embrace this call,” Bagume explains. He adds that the agency aims at promoting career opportunities to Rwandan youth through sports. Prime Sports is a local sports agency established to create a new marketing platform for products and brands through sports. “Through the belief in our children’s raw talent, our programs are designed to develop and nurture talents into marketable skills and create opportunities for future professional athletes,” Baguma discloses. The History of Streetball (AND 1 official website) Streetball began over 20 years ago in a NYC playground “The Rucker Park.” “The Rucker” transformed the local basketball league in Harlem into one of the best playgrounds for hoops on the planet with the likes of Nate Archibald and Wilt Chamberlain. The Rucker has witnessed over 10,000 people come to see great performances, tricks and how the players add an element of fun to the game. Today’s street ball players have been called the next generation “Harlem Globetrotters“. The player’s talents are known throughout the U.S and have gained national attention in commercials with Nike, ESPN, Mountain Dew and other major corporations. Street ball has opened up opportunities for the players such as; entry into the NBA major movie careers and major world exposure. Ends