[Foreign Flava – 9.12.12] – New AND1 print ad for the
bj-League (Japan) official guide book
Inks: FLASH aka g_sk1lls
Images: And1 Japan (c/o And1 USA, via e-mail)
AND1 Japan will be releasing this new print material for the official
guide book of the bj-League (Japan’s professional basketball league).It features former AND1 Mixtape standout and
the reigning bj-League dunk champion John “Helicopter” Humphrey
in his Saitama Broncos jersey, rocking a pair of Empire Mid PEs (player
exclusives) – posted the ad below.
Two things that’s quite obvious in the image is the
text – “Born To Ball” (a new marketing slogan? We’ll try to get more info on this soon.) and an official first glimpse of the AND1 20th anniversary
logo which we previewed in this blog article. Check out the teaser image below, posted back
in July 2012.
To find out more about Helicopter’s high-flying
exploits in the land of the rising sun, click here. For updates
about AND1 Japan (AND1 Fukuoka), visit them at http://and1.jp/fukuoka/. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter
(@and1ph) for local and international news & updates and LIKE us on
Facebook (www.facebook.com/and1ph). And that’s the 411, And Juan!
[Streetball’s
Finest– 1.26.12] – John “Helicopter”
Humphrey wins bj-League (Japan) ASG Dunk Contest in And1 Empire Mids
Inks: FLASH aka g_sk1lls
Images: Joe Kawai (And1 Japan) and bj-League (via Facebook fanpage and official website)
Former And1 Mixtape sensation and
current Saitama Broncos All Star John “Helicopter” Humphrey recently won
the bj-League ASG Dunk Contest last January 15, 2012 at the Saitama Super
Arena. Rocking specially made And1
Empire Mids (Black/Green colorway), Helicopter electrified the crowd, numbering
at 14,011, with an array of between-the-legs dunks and windmills to take home
his first-ever slam dunk crown.
Helicopter receiving his dunk contest award (the girl is wearing a non-locally released And1 Sabotage Mid in Black/Yellow).
For those who are not familiar
with the bj-League in Japan, it is their equivalent to our local PBA
(Philippine Basketball Association) and is a professional basketball league
established in the 2005-2006 season.
Helicopter went up against 5 other contestants namely: Ray Nixon (Shiga-Lakestars),
Brian Harper(Toyama-Grouses), Justin Burrell (Yokohama B-Corsairs), Yoshihiro
Tachibana (Sendai-89ers), and Edward Morris (Shinsyu-Brave Warriors). Aside from Helicopter, two other contestants
also wore And1s during the contest, Tachibana (Empire Mid, Black/Gold) and
Morris (Tai-chi Mid, Black/Silver).
Humphrey garnered a masterful 50
points on his final round to edge his closest rival, Ray Nixon (who only
managed 42 points).Check out the video posted below for Helicopter’s performance and I’ve also included some more
pictures of Helicopter’s Empire Mid kicks used during the ASG festivities.
It is also worth noting that
Humphrey also played in the All Star Game after winning the dunk contest, and
despite his East team losing to the West, (120-93 Final), he also took home the
Most Impressive Player award, given
to the best player of the losing team. The
high-flying forward scored 21 points and punctuated his performance with 2 slam
dunks during the game. He wore a
different pair of Empire Mids this time around, switching to a Gold/Gold/Black
CW, with “Helicopter” and “35” (Helicopter’s jersey number) etched on the each
heel. Peep the images below.
For more news about And1 both
locally (Philippines) and internationally, check us out in Facebook (www.facebook.com/and1ph) and on
Twitter (@and1ph). Big thanks to Joe
Kawai of And1 Japan (@and1_jp on Twitter) for the images and information that
he passed along, and to the JapanTimes and Jumpshot.Sg
sites for their own published articles which served as additional references
for this blogpost.
