NBA Madness Begins in South Korea
By Jonathan Sanfilippo
Staff Reporter
The courtyard on the fourth floor of the Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul was filled with Madness.
NBA Madness that is.
The National Basketball Association (NBA), considered the top professional basketball league in the world with teams in the United States and Canada, tipped off a three-day event called "NBA Madness Korea" on Friday.
Designed to promote basketball, NBA Madness Korea transformed the mall courtyard into a hoops festival, filled with basketball goals, pictures of NBA players, prizes and various other attractions.
A crowd gathered near a stage for an opening ceremony that included appearances from the Dallas Mavericks' dancers, the New Orleans Hornets' mascot and Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar.
``I really like Korea,'' Farmar said to the audience.
NBA Madness Korea, which is being held in Seoul for the second straight year, will continue Saturday and Sunday, offering a slew of interactive activities for fans. It includes skills challenges, slam dunk contests and 3-point shootouts as well as basketball clinics, video games and a chance for fans to compare themselves to life-sized cutouts of NBA players.
This weekend's event is part of an NBA Madness Asia Tour that will make its way through the region this summer. The tour began with a stop in Manila, Philippines, from June 13-July 13. It will also travel to three cities ― Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taipei ― in Taiwan from Aug. 15-31 as well as Tokyo from Aug. 29-31, Singapore from Sept. 5-7 and Hong Kong from Sept. 12-14.