Philly Plain Dealer

The Philadelphia Chinatown Basketball League is back for the summer. This league provides yet another reason why Philadelphia’s Chinatown must be preserved from ongoing development in the city. 

Nestled in between buildings, this basketball court is truly a relic in this city. And what’s most interesting about it is that from the outside, you cant even tell that it’s there. The caged in basketball court is located on 9th and Spring streets in Chinatown.

“ The goal is to build community, a lot of these people are traveling to these games from the tristate area, they’re coming together to play ball. Through playing ball, they’re building friendships. Its a community league, ” Said Harry Leong, Head of Operations for The Chinatown Basketball League

The league started in the 1950’s, it was and still is a citywide league that is sponsored by the Chinese Christian Center Church. Harry Leong, a Philadelphia Chinatown native, grew up as a teen watching and playing in the Chinatown league, and as of this past Monday this will be his 46th year being in charge of operations for the league. 

This year’s tournament started in the beginning of July and is running until the end of August. The basketball games are full court, are fully officiated by referees, have 16 minute halves, and are full of fierce competition. This year in the tournament there are about 11 teams and as always with this tournament, there’s no shortage of skill.

The league focuses and prioritizes on having Asian American players, but the rules have recently changed to allow teams to have one individual of non asian descent. 

“ We focus on Asian American players. Listen, there’s no other asian leagues in the city, there’s no one league that’s open to all Asians. We’re not excluding other people or ethnicities, but more so celebrating Asian culture by doing this, ” Said Leong 

Most of the individuals involved in the running of the tournament are local youth volunteers who are associated with the Christian Center. Their responsibilities include making sure everything runs smoothly, officiating the games, keeping track of the shotclock and making sure jerseys get to the players. Some evenings depending on the schedule, there will be games running for 4 hours straight.

With the game of basketball evolving, Harry hopes this tournament can continue to grow in skill and competition, but that it also keeps its integrity in recognizing Asian Americans  in Philadelphia.