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Hi there! Looking for a basketball / streetball game in Saigon? Not sure if you always want to play with locals? There’s nothing wrong with that as locals can be quite good, but the style of play is often quite…different.
I play with a group of expats, and while we’re not good, we do like to play and stay in shape and pretend that we’re not old. We can’t cover up that we’re short though (I’m 5’6).
We play in District 11, over at Phu Tho Stadium, the Lu Gia Street Gate (Ly Thuong Kiet and Lu Gia.). Right next to the Phu Tho Horse Racing Club (Click for Google Maps). If you’re going by taxi or xe om and don’t know much Vietnamese, type this in to your phone and show the driver:
“San thi dau Phu Tho, duong Ly Thuong Kiet, Q11, cong Lu Gia”
We reserve half or full court (full whenever we can) on Thursday nights and a weekend night (based on availability), and all pitch in for drinks (water, sports drinks) and court rental (Very affordable: a little over $5 USD per hour for the full court. That’s not per person, that’s total.). As far as I know, Phu Tho is considered the best place for basketball in the city. It is far for most people though, but it’s worth it if you really want to play basketball.
We’ll play each other (we’re mostly Americans but also play with Taiwanese friends), and sometimes pickup people to join us.
(EDIT: March 6, 2010
I opened a Mimo account (think of Twitter for Vietnam) to list out when we play. As soon as I receive confirmation of a time, I’ll post it to Mimo. To get the latest news, you can either check our page, or if you register for your own Mimo account, you can follow us, and get the updates delivered to your mobile through SMS for free.
We’re @BasketballSaigon.)
(EDIT: April 24, 2010
A quick note. In case you come to Q11 and don’t know where to find us, I’m almost always wearing an old-school Vince Carter Toronto Raptors jersey, and we’re the only ones speaking English.)
So, whether If you’re in town for a visit or living here, and would like to play, we’d love for you to join us, just leave me a comment below or contact me over at the About Me page. It’s also a good opportunity to network (hint, hint).
By the way, the picture above is at Phan Dinh Phung (PDP) Sports Complex in District 1 on Pasteur. They have a pretty nice court there, but like most good courts in Vietnam, very hard (virtually impossible) to reserve- they’re usually set aside for public (school) leagues or teams and can’t be used for pickup. If you want to do pickup there, you’ll have to do so at what are their almost quarter-like courts. You’ll understand if you go by there.
I’m also always happy to post more information on good pickup games to share if I get it. We’re always looking for more court options for games, but we want to be able to reserve a court, because true pickup (get in line and hope to get on) is too hard when you’re working and have a tight schedule.
I personally would pay $100 a month for a court/gym I could play at and practice by myself for couple hours a few times a week.
Hi im Adam, from England. i used to play basketball back home so looking for some pick up games. my no is: 01265420186 if u gcan txt the days & times u play, if im not working then il defo play!
Hi Adam, check out http://www.mimo.vn/basketballsaigon for updates. I’ll post whenever I get confirmations.
hey im from america and would love to play some games with you guys if possible. please email me times and dates for playing and will definitely show up
thank you
Hey I’m interested in playing some basketball. I tried looking this place up on google maps with no luck. I’m staying in q.5. If you could message me some directions I will definitely show up next time you guys play.
Hi Richard, it’s actually at Ly Thuong Kiet and Lu Gia. Try this link for directions.