NBA Manchester: Ibaka in the blue corner – Sefolosha in the red

by UK American Sports Fans

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Whilst they may be on the same side playing on the hardwood, two of Oklahoma City Thunder’s stars don’t quite see eye-to-eye in all matters football (sorry…soccer) related.

This week of course sees OKC and the Philadelphia 76ers descend on Manchester as part of the NBA Global Games ahead of the upcoming NBA season. Thunder’s Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha may pull on the same basketball jerseys but with the visit to Manchester looming, there have been a little friendly rivalry between the two players – who are split between the city’s two footballing powerhouses.

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Ibaka takes a keen following of Manchester City, and was lucky enough to spend time earlier on this year at the NBA 3x event staged right outside their Etihad Stadium: “My boy Yaya Toure plays for them. I know him from our days in Barcelona. When I was in Manchester over the summer I got to have a look around the Manchester City stadium and the facilities are incredible and I’ve been keeping an eye out for them ever since. It was great to see them beat Manchester United 4-1 – what a win! I was pleased as I could tell Thabo about it – A LOT!”

Despite that defeat and a number of other difficult results of late for the reigning Premier League champions, Sefolosha keeps the red flag flying high and hopes some of his heroes who he looks up to are just as impressed by his skills on the court: “I played football when I was a kid, it is such a fun sport to play, I fancied myself as a midfielder until I grew too tall and discovered basketball. I always liked Man United they are a great team and I’m looking forward to going there. I know one or two of the players are coming to the game on Tuesday, so we’ll have to put on a show.”

  • The Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Philadelphia 76ers at the Phones 4u Arena on Oct. 8th as part of NBA Global Games 2013. Tickets are available at www.eventim.co.uk.
  • Main image: NBAE/Getty Images