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Lately, some friends (Hai and Jimmy Thong Tran) and I have started playing basketball every Thursday in District 11. It’s basically my one social activity (work doesn’t count) each week, a fun session from 6:30 to 8PM (the courts are lit at night) followed by dinner together. We’re usually joined by a few of their coworkers, and I’m basically the only one who doesn’t work with them, but it’s been a good time. I’m hoping we’ll find a couple of more people so we can start doing full court runs- maybe that will force me into better shape as I’m a really lazy player.
The competition seems pretty good. We haven’t played other groups directly, but I can tell we’d find some good game (and size) if we did. You can see some of the action in the photos in this post, though none of them are of us since, well, we were playing. There are at least 3 or 4 full sized courts, and you’ll see teams come by and run practice there; I assume these are local high school and university teams, but I’ve heard companies (probably foreign based) have teams too.
The court in District 11 is actually quite nice, outdoors and quite comfortable to play in. It’s part of a sports complex, and I’ve noticed there are a few of these around the city, including one in District 1. People can come and reserve courts and mini-football (soccer) fields; our half court costs about $6 USD for the one and a half hours, definitely reasonable if split among the group. You can use the restrooms for 1000 VND (6 cents).
If you want to check it out, ask for the San Thi Dau (Basically Competition Court/Arena/Field) in Quan 11 on Ly Thuong Kiet. The courts are on the right side of the complex, but I think if you’re going down on Ly Thuong Kiet, you just go straight and you’ll see the courts on the left.
do you see girls playing?
I do actually. A good number of girls are out there playing, some in teams. We have a couple of gears playing with us as well, and they’re not bad at all. Btw, Chewy, where are you? I was looking at your blog, and I noticed some stuff about Japan, but couldn’t tell for sure.
Hmm hmm so cool, I like basketball but I’m too short lol Do you know many vietnamese play basketball?
Being short isn’t a problem at all. I’m used to it! Also, I play only with short people
Come out sometime if you can, it will be fun! In Q11 I find a lot of people playing basketball, definitely much more Vietnamese than foreigners. When I see schools and local gyms, I see a lot of basketball courts, much more so than in Hanoi.
I’m currently in HCMC District 1. I’ve been looking to play some basketball. If anyone needs an extra guy to run with please hit me up. email: ockidd81@yahoo.com
You should try playing with us. I don’t mind District 1 either, just hard to reserve a court.