The health retreat Tomorrow’s Life where too much purity Rooted in Rioja – British Sea Power new respect for chart a course for is deemed boring C7 old techniques Food Hong Kong Gigs FASHION TRAVEL DIVERSIONS ON AIR www.scmp.com SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2009 C ‘Surfers’ reclaim old gold mines Streetball has proven especially popular among Filipinos who have ...................................................... formed their own league “This reminds me of a beach. If Alexandra Lesieur there was an ocean there, I would Cherie lands head-first at the base of not be surprised,” says Jai Sewram, a sand dune, her feet in the air but a 30-year-old artist with sand still still strapped to the “sandboard” she stuck around his ears and mouth is hoping to master to surf on dunes after a particularly graceful fall. in Johannesburg’s old gold mines. “I would have never thought a One of a group of budding mine dump would be like that,” sandboarders, she was taking her he says. first ride down Mount Mayhem, one “You see it from the motorway,” of several dunes near the airport. says Laura Hills, a 34-year-old South Africa’s biggest city lies six mother who came with her children. hours from the sea and six hours “I expected it to be a little bit dirty from the nearest ski slopes, but the and not so nice.” metropolis built on gold is dotted The dunes have been around for Streetball, the brash, raucous with abandoned mines, many filled a century, after an 1880s gold rush with powdery sand that has inspired a new sport. form of basketball that grew “There’s no other place in the There’s no other world that runs like this sand does because it’s so fine,” says Phil du place in the world out of black neighbourhoods Plessis, a Web programmer and that runs like this instructor for Pure Rush Industries, which organises weekend sand does because in the US, is winning fans sandboard outings. “The sand has been treated, it’s so fine refined. It’s less grainy here; it’s like ...................................................... in the city, writes Ben Sin baby powder,” he says. Phil du Plessis, sandboard instructor “If you go on the coast, the sand is more grainy, you have to wax the board [and] you can’t ride when it’s wet,” he says. The sand here is so fine because it is a by-product from gold mining – rocks that have been ground to dust to extract the precious metal. Consisting mostly of quartz, with trace amounts of gold and pyrite, the powdery texture lets Street sandboarders speed downhill faster than on sandy beaches but with less freedom of movement than on snow, Du Plessis says. Without snowy slopes nearby, Shaun Langkilde comes almost every week for the rush of the sandboard. “It’s a huge adrenaline shot. You forget everything in the world, it takes away your stress and worries,” says the 22-year-old. smarts Others like Robert Lanferna de la Motte come to meet new people and get a workout on the dunes, where there’s no ski lift to get to the top. “It’s the best [rush] I’ve ever had, Sandboarders are finding fresh but it’s also a great exercise walking ways to exploit South Africa’s up the madness mountain,” he says , disused gold mines. Photo: AFP standing next to a barbecue grill set up at the base of the dune. gave birth to Johannesburg. But “When you fall, it’s not painful. modern mining techniques can now The sand is soft.” extract gold from the sand, and Novice sandboarders start out by companies are already chewing hiking about halfway up the dune away at the dunes. and surfing back down, until they “They have started on the other get the hang of it. side of the dune,” Du Plessis says. o many streetball last year – and had a ball bounced off promoter of streetball in the region After a few descents, the braver “There will be a day when we fans, Mike Heung his head for his pains. But the in recent years, organising tours of Today’s streetballers ones climb towards the top, where come and won’t be able to ride any Chun-keung is a 28-year-old wasn’t upset; it’s a US stars to the mainland, Hong they can see the surrounding more, but it won’t be for six, seven or magician. His array common tactic in streetball. Kong and Taiwan. focus on individual neighbourhoods, the minaret of a 10 years.” of flashy dribbling “Today’s streetballers focus on The first Chinese born outside showboating and mosque and four or five other ...................................................... moves – between individual showboating and making the US to play Division One college golden dunes along the horizon. Agence France-Presse the legs, behind a fool of their opponents,” says football in the 90s, Ng says a key making a fool of the back, even editorial manager Ryan Maniago, reason he wanted to organise behind the who often joins fellow Filipinos for a streetball games in the region was their opponents opponent’s back – few games after work. the lack of a sports culture here. ...................................................... dazzles foes and fans alike. For his The street style is particularly “I want people in Asia to see this Ryan Maniago, streetballer Tcourt exploits, Heung has been popular with Filipinos here, and it’s form of basketball that is so popular dubbed the Hong Kong Iverson, reflected by the raucous atmosphere in the US.” “I’m an anomaly in the city; after NBA star Allen Iverson. at their games on public courts But Hong Kong-born Ng my game is totally different from Streetball is a loose, freestyle around Wan Chai on weekends. acknowledges sportswear brands most local players,” Heung says, version of basketball that grew out of Maniago, 34, plays in a such as adidas and Nike planted the referring to the view of expatriate black neighbourhoods in the US and predominantly Filipino league seeds of a streetball subculture in players that the local game is has since spread around the world, called the Hong Kong Cage Ballers, the 90s, when they chose the city to decidedly less aggressive. including Hong Kong where it’s whose games are held at the Li Sing launch three-on-three tournaments. Basketball was limited to the gaining traction. Rules governing the Kai courts in Sai Ying Pun. Dubbed It was at those tournaments that traditional game when American traditional game such as travelling “The Cage” for its wall-to-wall Heung developed his game and Chinese Dave Gee Dai-wai moved to are bent and stretched without fencing, the venue can feel earned his reputation for having the Hong Kong in 1994. So he set up the anyone batting an eyelid. Players are claustrophobic, especially on best “handles” – streetball slang for South China Basketball League a Although Poon first made a allowed to adopt a more physical Sunday evenings when dozens of dribbling skills – in the city. decade ago to provide an outlet for name for himself on the streetball form of defence – bumping and Filipino workers pack in to watch “Ever since I was a kid I’ve been people looking to play the more scene when he scored a record 51 pushing their opponents without the games, complete with noisy practising basketball, trying to physical North American game. points in a streetball tournament penalty – and trash-talking is part of commentary from an emcee. mimic the moves of black players Even so, Matthew Jung, 35, in 1998, he says the flashy styles the culture. “Streetball, is in essence, [such as Kenny Anderson and Tim who enjoyed a successful a favoured in streetball can be In the US, popular players on the basketball remixed,” says Rock Ng Hardaway],” he says. semi-professional career in Hong detrimental to the game. roster of streetball promoter And1 Ka-lok, executive director of events Heung doesn’t just shine at the Kong, says streetball in the city lacks “In general, streetball is too are household names. The US company DplexGroup. (The street game. He’s also a member of the “ruckus and nastiness” of North much style over substance,” he says. crew’s loud, brash style attracted language of streetball and hip hop the Hong Kong team and plays for American games. “If a young player doesn’t learn sell-out crowds during their past overlap since both are rooted in the semi-professional club Winling That’s why many expatriates the game properly and just tries to two visits to Hong Kong. Heung African American culture.) in the A division of the Hong Kong gather at the Macdonnell Road do all these dribbling moves, they was in the lineup against the visitors Dplex has been an active Basketball League. outdoor courts in Mid-Levels, where will only look cool; they won’t be the play is more physical, says Jung, effective players.” now marketing director of W Hotel. His teammate Heung is one of “Macdonnell Road is the only the few who can strike a balance place I can play my game,” says chef between flash and substance, Poon Nathan Hogan, who used to play says. “Mike plays a lot calmer in college basketball in Toronto. [conventional] games, but you’ll “Everywhere else in the city I have to still see glimpses of the swagger tone it down a notch.” here and there.” Maniago says: “You rarely see The growing popularity of the best Filipino players mix it up basketball in Asia over the past with locals because we find the decade, however, has led corporate style of most local players very sponsors to place greater emphasis boring and robotic.