On September 7, Stephen Curry left San Francisco and headed to the Pearl of the Orient, Manila. He was welcomed by thousands of screaming fans that waited hours to see him — a constant for all of the stops Curry made in Asia.
In Manila, Curry began with a two-hour on-court workout hosted by trainer Brandon Payne that included speed and agility drills as well as shooting. Curry tasted a popular Filipino delicacy for breakfast, Halo-Halo, a cold dessert of shaved ice and various fruits like shredded coconut, mangoes, and jackfruit mixed with gelatin and milk.
After touring a Jeepney, the Curry headed to Mall of Asia for the Under Armour Southeast Asia 3×3 Finals where Steph and his father Dell Curry got together on-court for a shooting contest with other local fathers, sons, and daughters. The contest was close but Stephen and Dell secured the W. After a Filipino scalp massage and a UA Brand House ribbon cutting, the Curry Asia Tour headed to Wuhan, China.
Known for being a great connector city of China, Wuhan is a hustling, bustling, historic city in the Hubei province. There, Curry was welcomed by thousands more fans, and put his skills to the test against a three-point shooting robot from Comau; he was ultimately victorious, scoring 22 shots to the robot’s 16, according to Under Armour. He finished his stay in Wuhan by visiting the Parrot Bridge and heading to Yellow Crane Tower to learn about the storied art of Chinese calligraphy.
Finally, the 2018 Stephen Curry Asia Tour hit its final stop in Asia: Tokyo, Japan. Curry began his first full day in the electrifying city with an early training session at the Toyo-Eiwa Girls’ School basketball court in front of 40 students from the U-15 and B-League Jr. teams.
After his training session, trainer Brandon Payne and Curry hosted a clinic for the students that focused on skills, tips, and how to tap into will to put in hard work. Local superstars Ryuichi Kishimoto and Yutaro Suda of the Ryukyu Golden Kings made appearances.
After putting in work on-court, Curry headed to Tokyo’s iconic Shibuya Crossing to watch his Curry 5 creative take over the screens all around the crossing before hundreds of fans recognized and mobbed him. He greeted over 600 students ages 8-12 years old at Arike West Academy and visited CH Harajuku, Tokyo Tower, the Ginza District, and Kabuki-za.
Next, the tour made its way to Roppongi to introduce the exclusive Curry 5 colorway inspired by Tokyo’s lights, watch the finals of the SEA 3×3 tournament, and present the winning team with a special prize: a pair of signed Curry 5s for each player.
Then, Dell and Stephen Curry faced off in a 3-point contest with local hoopers and made a surprise visit to an Under Armour Curry 5 pop-up shop above the Roppongi Hills Arena where Curry signed a huge version of Tokyo’s exclusive Curry 5 in front of hundreds of fans. To wrap up Curry’s tour of Asia, Stephen was honored by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the Yomiuri Giants baseball game. (Dell Curry was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1985 MLB draft but he chose to pursue basketball.)
The 2018 Stephen Curry Asia Tour will continue on to Europe where Curry will visit fans in Paris and London.
Source: Under Armour / Images courtesy of Under Armour
