ANYANG, South Korea -- Are Korean Basketball League games as exciting as their NBA counterparts? On Friday, 35 Camp Humphreys community members signed up and found out.
The Foreign Goods Transaction Office, in coordination with the U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys Public Affairs Office, hosted a free trip to watch the KBL's Anyang Red Boosters take on the Goyang Sono Skygunners, Jan. 23.
Chock full of clutch three-pointers, defensive stops, and even a few dunks and alley-oops, the KBL ballers did not disappoint.
"I think the Red Boosters had a good comeback," said Alek Sonnier, 12, immediately after the game. Sonnier, who attended with his parents and two siblings, currently plays for the Astros in the Child and Youth Services basketball league at Camp Humphreys.
After tipoff, the home-team Red Boosters shot ahead to an early lead but fell 10 points behind by halftime. The Red Boosters chipped away at the lead to pull within 5 points of the Skygunners by the start of the fourth quarter.
The lead changed several times and the excitement surged with each successive defensive stop and bucket by the Red Boosters until Skygunners regained the lead, 61-60, with less than a minute left.
In the end, the Red Boosters solidified the win, 65-61, with free-throws before a Skygunner nailed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to make it 65-64.
"It was amazing – this was perfect," said Derrick Sonnier, Alek's father and operations officer with the 403rd Army Field Support Battalion-Korea.
For those familiar with Korean baseball games, KBL games share a few parallels, including roving cheerleaders, audience chants for specific players after big plays ("Ah-ban-do" for Red Booster guard Rhenz Abando) and multinational rosters.
In addition to fan favorites like the "Kiss Cam" and interactive games during timeouts, the audience watches in real time on the jumbotron as referees rewind and review challenges to fouls issued by the coaches.
Venues in Korea are much smaller than in the NBA. Anyang's arena seats just under 7,000, which gives fans a more intimate experience, even from the second level, where spectators from Camp Humphreys watched the game.
After the game, the Camp Humphreys group met up to wait for their bus. The arena was still abuzz as fans filed outside and snow began to fall.
Madrid Hamlette, 10, who plays for CYS basketball for the Solar Flares, talked with his family about the game.
"It was cinematic," he said.
Well-put, Mr. Hamlette, well-put.
The Foreign Goods Transaction Office is one of 11 U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys’ Good Neighbor Program organizations. These GNP organizations aim to improve quality of life for Soldiers, community members and their families while also strengthening the ROK-US Alliance by providing free opportunities for cultural immersion and community involvement.
The next KBL game outing is Feb. 7.For more information on upcoming free cultural immersion activities like this one, follow our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/usaghumphreys and download the My Army Post app.
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