“Red Bull King of the Rock” Street Basketball in Tbilisi
For the fourth time “Red Bull King of the Rock” street basketball came to central Tbilisi, supported by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs Georgia. The selection tours known as the ‘Western Tour’ has already been held in Kutaishi on the 23rd June. The ‘Eastern Tour’ was held on 26th July with the final match being held yesterday on Metekhi Bridge.
The first tour was held in 2010, created by basketball player Rajon Rondo, a four-time star and one-time NBA team selection member. The competition used to be held in American prison Alcatraz’s station, known as “rock.” The kings of rock so far are: 2010 – Isaiah “Clutch” Bowman; 2011-2012 – “Baby Shaq”; 2013 – “Tarron “the Beast” Williams; 2014 –Kivanc Dinler.
In 2012 the basketball was held in Georgia for the first time on the Metekhi Bridge and the winner was Vato Tevzadze, 21. In 2013-14 the winner was Vakhtang Kardia, 23. Last year Vakhtang Kardia defeated the world champion, Deron Williams, and took third place. Yesterday 64 participants met each other and Kardia became the winner. Kardia headed to Istanbul, Turkey, with 23 other participants for the world championship on July 29th.
Nina Ioseliani