For the love of basketball
2006-02-28
For the love of Basketball
For all Japan has to offer, any b-baller will tell you it can take a full-court press to find a game of hoops here. Sure, facilities abound. But regularly working up a sweat to the chorus of squeaking sneakers and the swish of a net - that's a different story. Thankfully, game organizers like Fred Fishman do most the work for us.
For the love of the game, he heads one of at least three Basketball groups that meet weekly in the Tokyo area. He insists his group is not a "club" and any decent player is welcome to join. All it takes is about 1,000 yen per session to help cover the cost of using the court at Kanpo Recreation Center.
"It's very difficult to play here so I found a gym that I'm able to reserve and we play a couple hours each weekend," says Fishman, 63. Don't be fooled by his age. The retired civil engineer says most players are in their 20s or 30s, and he appears to have no trouble keeping up. It's all in good fun - and part of the fun for this group is serous competition.
"I play on an AA Japanese team in Ikebukuro - the Titans," 28-year-old Brandon Matsui, says of why he chooses this group over other local basketball clubs. "Some big guys come out here. It's more physical. This group is always a little more competitive."
Like the neighborhood games that Fishman grew up playing in New York, these mostly ex-pat guys play hard. Catcalls are common and bragging rights are earned - not assumed. About a dozen or so of the more than 50 subscribers to Fishman's weekly e-mail list turnout for Saturday or Sunday pickup games, he says. Two to three teams are formed as evenly as possible and then the games begin.
It's enough to keep teacher and former college baller Chris, 38, (who declined to give his sir name) coming back after only two months in Tokyo, following a 7-year stint in Kyushu. "It's a lot like back home," he said of the hassle-free pickup games he could find any weekend in his native Canada. "You just come here and play." But it's not the only game in town.
For 2,000 yen to join and another 2k per pop, American Basketball Club has a similar deal on Kanpo's adjacent court on Sundays. Sam Arnold Basketball Academy, which just opened its third Asian-based club in Singapore, started the Tokyo club in 1999. Its Australian founder aims to fill the void for avid ex-pat players, says Tokyo club manager Satheesh Hari.
"When Sam arrived (in Japan) there were no foreign sports clubs so he started basketball and tennis clubs," Hari says, adding that the basketball club's approximately 100 members are mostly American. The average player's skill level is just above average and membership, which is open to all, comes with a few perks: "If you bring a friend or new member you get a free session for that day."
In addition to occasional lessons from pro players (for an additional 4,000 yen), he says the club also offers a shot at being the year's most valuable player: "The most valuable player gets a free appetizer (coupon) from Outback Steakhouse and Blue Wine and can play for free next year." Others say their business is just providing a fun game of hoops.
Tokyo Gaijins Basketball Group shoots to meet the needs of hardcore hoopsters and beginning ballers alike, says Ricky Farinas, 32: "I love basketball; I come from the Philippines where Basketball is big." The event organizer used his talents to form his group three years ago for the kind of on-court recreation he enjoyed as a kid. "My club is laidback," Farinas adds. "You can play any time you want and you're not pushed to show up."
He says that on average about 20 of the club's 450 members show for two-hour weekend games at Tokyo-area gyms. The cost ranges from 1,000 yen to 1,500 yen depending on court rental fees.
"We have two kinds of basketball games: One, we call the competitive level, which is usually just guys - a lot have played at the college level," Farinas says. "Then we have the fun level, which is usually both men and women. The fun Level is most popular; people just enjoy laughing and playing the game. The competitive level may be a little too serious for them." That's not likely to be the case for ballers in Fishman's group.
Like the on-court bravado of a good street game, he and some of his crew boast the most competitive amateur game in town. "I've played in all three of the groups and I think my group is a higher level," says Fishman, echoing fellow group members' comments. "They let anybody play." He adds that it is precisely what prompted him to start his group about a year ago: "I wanted to play a decent game of basketball."
Fishman says his group is far from elitist but that those who step to the court better, "at least be a pretty good basketball player."
For info on these competitive pick-up games, contact Fred Fishman: 0706-4016-1202 or fhfkla@twics.com. American Basketball Club can be reached at: 070-5578-7404 or sabatokyo@hotmail.com. Tokyo Gaijins Basketball Group has an online game schedule and contact info at: http://www.tokyogaijins.com/basketball/bbhome.html.
