HoopsFest hype builds

Just a week remains until HoopsFest tips off in Perth, and for the stars of the show, it doesn’t get much bigger.

Four days of hoops at one of Australia’s biggest basketball, culture and lifestyle festivals has Adelaide excitement machine Zylan Cheatham excited to get started.

“From a competitor standpoint, you kind of get in your mind that you want to rip these guys’ heads off. Then, you’re seeing these guys around the hotel, around the city and you’re friends with them, you’re cool with them,” Cheatham told ESPN ahead of a huge round of NBL and WNBL games, starting on January 15.

“Having all the teams in the same vicinity and being able to watch high level games … being able to be there and scout, see some of your friends and enjoy some of the fruits of being a professional athlete in the NBL, it’s an amazing event.”

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Cheatham will take part in his first HoopsFest and says he can’t wait to witness the presence of a childhood hero.

“I heard Allen Iverson’s going to be there and for me growing up, that’s right around my era,” he said.

“To see someone that I grew up idolising and seen as practically a god in a basketball sense, it’s a hell of an opportunity for me.”

HoopsFest Perth will include nine games across four days, a fan festival celebrating all things basketball culture, a Sneakerland display, and the HoopsFest Cup, an open-age tournament with $50,000 up for grabs.

“Being in the beautiful city of Perth, it’s going to be fun,” Cheatham said.

Tickets are selling fast for HoopsFest Perth.

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