Hong Kong

It was my first time in Hong Kong and I just had to do the typical touristy things which mainly consisted of eating, eating and eating. Besides the must have dim sum, I also ate goose and pigeons for the first time in my life. Although I am uncertain about the specifics of what type of goose and pigeon I consumed, the visual representations in my mind are that of the geese that attack you near a pond, and the fearless pigeons that wander the streets of NYC. Both were delicious. 

I was also fed lots of barbecue meats, egg tarts and bubble tea. While all the food was great, I craved to eat a bowl of cereal…

I had the privilege of having friends (haha) that lived in or were from Hong Kong and all signs pointed towards two very popular basketball courts; Victoria Park and Southorn Playground. These two courts seemed to be the courts that everyone talked about, so I just had to pay a visit to see what they were all about. 

Victoria Park Basketball Courts

I originally planned on coming to this court in the morning, because I had a friend who told me about a group that plays there every morning from Mon-Sat from 8-9:30 am but it unfortunately rained every morning when I was in HK (If you are interested in morning ball, I would recommend checking this place out during that time). Luckily for me, HK was so hot during the day, that all the rain dried up by mid-afternoon, clearing the way for some good pickup basketball opportunities by evening time. 

I decided to swing by Victoria Park at around 5pm on a weekday evening and the courts were mixed between shooting around and 4x4 games. All games were half court. I recommend just walking towards the group you want to play with and shoot near them to wait for next. You can either ask for next or eventually, as I've learned, they’ll ask for ‘1 more person’ to join so that you can play 4x4.

Luckily for me, the most competitive 4x4 court was looking for 1 more person to play so I quickly volunteered (hunger games style) and jumped right into competition. Usually winners will stay on the court and continue playing with the same team but if they want to mix it up, or are just starting out, you will encounter the players gathering in a circle and throwing signs. Now these aren’t your typical gang signs, but rather ‘Rock’ vs ‘Paper’. Don’t be confused as this is the way teams are chosen. You keep throwing Rock or Paper until it’s split evenly amongst players, forming the teams. I believe it’s either called Hei Bai (black white) or Wu Shi (five ten). 

This group I played with ranged anywhere from 25ish to 50 years old, but don’t be fooled by the older ages of these ballers. I don’t know if it was home court advantage or the rims, but these guys could not miss. Games were played by 2s and 3s (yay for the 3 point revolution) to 31. 

I don’t think you can go wrong by coming to the Victoria Park Basketball Courts as there were ballers of all levels across all the courts. The later you stay into the night, the more locals come out to ball and the competition levels increase. 

Southorn Playground

I thought I was going to miss out on playing pickup basketball at the Southorn Playground basketball courts because I arrived at 10pm on a weekday night but to my delightment, it was packed with people. 

I did my usual walk to the hoop where people are just shooting around and wait for next on any court that needs an extra player. After shooting around for about 15 minutes, a 4x4 game opened up and I jumped on the opportunity to play next.

The crowd at this court was on the younger side compared to Victoria Park and dare I say that the talent levels also looked a bit better as well? One memory that I’m never going to forget was on the very first play of our 4x4 matchup, I was guarding this extremely quick guard who did some double crossover hesi stepback 3 pointer that swished right in my face. While it wasn’t the greatest start, it was a long night of good fun basketball with a lot of friendly players. Games were also 2s and 3s to 31. I wish I could have stayed longer to see what time the last game was played but my guess is that it’s around midnight. 

Conclusion

You can’t go wrong with either Victoria Park or Southorn Playground. Both offer friendly yet competitive basketball where you are pretty much guaranteed to show off your basketball talents in a half court set. Don’t be afraid to call next or jump at any opportunity to get in on a game, and especially don’t forget to eat all the delicious foods that Hong Kong has to offer. If you ever find yourself visiting Hong Kong and craving to play some basketball, make sure you stop by either Victoria Park or Southorn Playground! 

________

Travel Tip from Hong Kong International Airport to central Hong Kong

This might be the easiest money saver trip that any traveler can take. If you are looking for an affordable (and potentially even faster) way to travel from the HK airport to central HK

• Take the Airport Express from the airport to Hong Kong Station

  • $115HK

  • ~24 minutes

  • Look for the unmissable signs everywhere in the airport for the Airport Express