Kwesi Mugisa, Staff ReporterTHE EXCITEMENT of street basketball will come to Jamaica when the world renowned And1 tour touches down in Kingston, for the JAMROC street-ballers weekend tour from May 4-7.
A number of events have been planned for the tour which sees some of the streetballing legends of the hardwood on display. They include a visit to the Bustamante Children's Hospital and an autograph signing session at the New Kingston Shopping Centre.
The ballers will then take the court at the National Indoor Sports Centre on May 6 at 2:30p.m. where they will face a group of selected local players and possibly a few entertainers and corporate representatives.
Anthony Heyward more commonly known as Half Man Half Amazing for his incredible vertical leaping ability and hang time, will lead the And1 squad. He will be joined by Dennis Chism (SPYDA), John Harvey (High Octane), Malloy Nesmith (Da Future), Tyron Evans (Alimoe) and the mystifying Grayson Boucher (The Professor), who has left many and opponent rooted with his menacing cross-over move.
The event was made possible by Legend Sports Management and Consultancy (LSMC) in collaboration with the Jamaica Basketball Association (JBA).
For JBA president Marland Nattie the event will be an important one.
"The fact that we are able to host this event is a significant milestone for local basketball. It is evidence that the sport has come a long way due to the work of those dedicated to it," he said.
Stanley Ralph, manager of SLR Manage-ment, who were also responsible for getting the tour to the island, while taking time out to admire the nation's talent pool, stated that he expected the event to be an annual one and outlined his commitment to local basketball.
"Anything that we can do to bring the sport to the youth is a dream come true for me and we will work closely with the organisations to develop the sport even further here," he said.
