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MUMBAI:
The National Basketball Association (NBA) will launch the
first-ever NBA 3X in India.
The
free interactive event will combine basketball and entertainment
to bring an unprecedented NBA experience to fans in four cities
from 15 September - 21 October. The event will visit Delhi,
Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai and this will mark the NBA’s
first event in Hyderabad.
NBA
3X, presented by Sprite, will feature a 3-on-3 basketball
tournament with 400 teams expected to participate; performances
from top musical artists or well-known DJ each day; and a
variety of on and off the court activities for fans.
NBA
India senior director of development Akash Jain said, “NBA
3X presented by Sprite will combine NBA-style entertainment,
3-on-3 basketball, and music to engage youth and build our
fan base in India. This is the largest fan program we have
ever hosted in India and the wide range of basketball and
lifestyle elements will provide memorable experiences for
our fans.”
The
3-on-3 tournament will have two age divisions: 16-18 and 18-23
years. The winners in each city will be flown to Mumbai to
compete in a National Championship on 21 October. The National
Champions in each division will qualify to participate in
a 2013 FIBA/NBA Asia 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Seven-time
NBA Champion Robert Horry and the Golden State Warriors dance
team, the Warrior Girls, will be in Delhi to tip off the event
from 15-16 September.
Horry,
who played 16 seasons in the NBA for four teams, will also
attend the Mahindra NBA Challenge Finals in Bangalore and
conduct an NBA Cares event in Delhi with Love in Action --
a Delhi-based NGO which uses the sport of basketball to provide
life-skills education to children from slums.
The
musical artists and DJ’s performing include hip hop and
Bollywood artist Hard Kaur; electronic and dance music duo
VJ Nikhil Chinapa and DJ Pearl; singer Anushka Manchanda,
past winner of Channel V’s music talent hunt search Pop
Stars; along with two of India's top DJs - Clement and Ajit
(Goa).
NBA
3X will bring NBA-style entertainment to fans in India. Fans
will participate in free contests and activities with the
chance to win NBA merchandise. They can participate in basketball
clinics, play NBA video games, measure themselves against
cut-outs of NBA players, and interact with Horry and the Warrior
Girls.
NBA
3X is being supported by adidas, HP, Spalding and the Basketball
Federation of India (BFI). Sprite will send two participants
from the national champion team in the 18-23 division to NBA
All-Star 2013. These two participants may get a chance to
be part of the global pool of players from which NBA All-Stars
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James will select to be part of the
Sprite Team Sudden and Team Intense competition during NBA-All
Star 2013.
In
addition, the first Sprite Basket Blast 2012 will take place
in select cinemas across select cities in India from September
through October.
Fans
can purchase a Sprite Combo at participating cinemas to enter
a lucky draw to get a chance to travel to NBA All-Star 2013.
Four Winners will be selected and win trips to All-Star.
Adidas
is supporting all participants with their best-in-class on-court
jerseys and will also create an NBA Shop at each venue to
showcase the latest NBA products. In addition, adidas will
mark the return of the 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick
Rose, of the Chicago Bulls, with the launch of an exclusive
Rose collection and a series of activations to engage youth.
HP
will create an interactive technology experience for fans
visiting NBA 3X presented by Sprite. Fans can utilise HP products
to access NBA.com, NBA social media, basketball training videos
and create their very own NBA Avatar. Spalding will provide
all basketball equipment.
Coca-Cola
India director, integrated marketing communications Wasim
Basir said, “We are extremely pleased to announce brand
Sprite’s association with the NBA 3X initiative. Sprite
is an exciting and vibrant brand that has always maintained
a meaningful connection with its consumers through engaging
initiatives. We look forward to working together with the
NBA to develop more innovative basketball experiences that
will resonate well with our consumers in India and give them
the opportunity to be closely involved with the sport."
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