National anthem booing? No, this is basketball as Hong Kong prepare for ‘Tall Blacks’
While there has been no let up in booing at local soccer matches, HK basketball officials don’t think they will get the same treatment when they take on New Zealand
The Hong Kong basketball team are unfazed that local fans might boo the Chinese national anthem just as their soccer counterparts have done when they take on visiting New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup basketball qualifiers on Sunday.
Several days after losing their opening match in their campaign to China in Nanjing, Hong Kong have been given home ground advantage against the “Tall Blacks” at the 2,000-seat Southorn Stadium.
Hong Kong hosted soccer games have drawn a lot of negative news these days with the recent soccer fans’ booing during March of the Volunteers.
But the Hong Kong team are clearly unworried that the recent anti-Chinese sentiment that has swept both Mong Kok and Hong Kong Stadium might sweep through Southorn Stadium.
“We don’t worry about it as it is something we can’t worry about because it is out of our control,” said Hong Kong team manager Mok Yiu-keung. “But we do believe basketball fans usually behave well and even if they chant, they will only chant the team they support.
