Hard Knock Hoops 2015 SXSW

Hip-Hop Meets Hoops: Hard Knock TV Hosts 5th Successful Tournament at the 2015 SXSW Music Festival and 8th tournament overall.

Another rainy day did nothing to deter artists, fans, and friends from participating in Hard Knock TV’s Celebrity 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament at this year’s SXSW Music Festival. With pride, bragging rights, and some serious prizes on the line, premiere artists and tastemakers in town for the festivities brought their “A” game in an attempt to take this year’s crown.

The competition was intense from the start, with “Mr. Ice Cream Paint Job,” Dorrough, bringing his squad back to defend last year’s title. Though “Dorrough Music” gave several other competitors a run for their money, Dorrough and his team were eliminated late in the tournament and saw the chance for a back-to-back championship slip away. With the tournament wide open for a new champion, teams led by artists Drumma Boy, Chase and Cashe, Dee-1, Trinidad Jame$, and Dizzy Wright all fought hard to advance through the brackets. Wright, who returned with his “Funk Volume” squad to redeem last year’s loss, battled game after game to end up in the finals. Facing “San Turn Up,” a PMK/Pepsi team that overcame an early loss to work their way back into contention, Funk Volume put it all on the line, but seemed to run out of gas and ended up with a heart breaking loss to the underdogs.

All in all, the event was again a huge success, and everyone that participated took the time to high five one another and catch up between the madness of showcases and parties held throughout the week. A special shout out and thank you to our event sponsors Adidas, New Era, Pepsi, Playstation, EA Sports, GUS Leagues, and the good folks at Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center that allowed us to host the event.

For all of the stats, check out the GUS Leagues website and feel free to share with fans and friends! Also, catch up on our social media coverage by searching #hardknockhoops.

For a photo gallery of all the action, please visit our Hard Knock TV Facebook page.

Thank You’s and Acknowledgements:
Trinidad Jame$ (Artist), Dorrough Music (Artist),Dizzy Wright (Artist), Roscoe Dash (Artist), Goldlink (Artist), K Camp (Artist), Carl Chery (Apple/Beats Music), Brannon Scales (Atlantic Records), Chase N Cashe (Artist), Dee-1 (Artist), Noah Preston (Def Jam), Dame Ritter (Funk Volume), DJ Hella Yella (DJ), George Kiel (Nice Kicks), Brock Korsan (Def Jam), Dow Jones (Producer), James Beshara (Tilt), Erick Torenberg (Product Hunt), Tucker Max (Author), Brandon Cox (505 Games), Jay Blistan (Pepsi), Robert Santini (PMK), TC (Hip Hop Wired), Roslynn Cobarrubias (Third Floor Network), YC the Cynic (Artist) and Irv Da Phenom (Artist) among others.

A very special thank you goes to Adidas for providing the uniforms and sneakers for the
athletes, Pepsi for providing transportation and refreshments, and New Era, Playstation, and EA Sports, for the tournament prizes.

Twitter: @hardknocktv , @hardknockhoops
Instagram: @hardknocktv, @hardknockhoops

Words by: Mark Anthony Jenkins
(Twitter and IG: @markanthonyj20)