BJ League Final Four matches finished last week. And the winner of the whole season revealed as Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix. During the final matches, the tribunes of Ariake Coliseum had become a perfect scene for the most beautiful basketball moments. Japanese basketball fans cheered, celebrated and cried together. But one thing surely touched every single one them and made a non-erasable mark on their hearts. Basukettoke!

The fans loved this special celebration presented by BJ League’s title sponsor Turkish Airlines. Basukettoke celebration, which had been prepared for to symbolize the friendly ties between Turkey and Japan and to represent the excitement of Turkish Airlines for ever­growing Japanese basketball, has turned out to be a big movement. Basuketoke dance that symbolizes the basketball’s meaning as power, courage and victory and the essence of which is the mixture of Turkish tribune culture’s enthusiasm with Japanese karaoke culture’s fun, has quickly spread among the Japanese basketball fans. From the start of the final four week to the championship match, the tribunes has supported their teams with doing Basukettoke with a great passion. It was so beautiful to see rival team fans doing Basukettoke altogether and sharing this energy created by the love for Basketball.

It was not only the fans! Japanese music band Song Riders, who are the makers of Basukettoke’s music; the acrobatic basketball slum dunk team Lords of Gravity, BJ League basketball players and the cheerleaders has also become a part of the Basukettoke movement.

Basukettoke celebration becomes so popular that it eventually overflowed to the streets of Japan. Before the final matches, Japanese fans danced in the parks and streets of Tokyo, made rehearsals for the tribune shows and recorded their Basukettoke videos. For doing that, they received help from the guidance videos within Turkish Airlines’ Basukettoke website (www.basukettoke.com).

Both the fans shared their Basukettoke videos on basukettoke.com and the ones demonstrated their dancing talents during the halftime Basukettoke shows, has gained a chance to win free Istanbul flight tickets and free Istanbul tour. It was worth-­seeing to see the happiness and the astonishment of the fans, who won these prizes.

At the end of the BJ League Final Four matches there has been two winners. Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix; as the champion of the season and Turkish Airlines; as the winner of the Japanese basketball fans hearts with their Basukettoke campaign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRJqFGM8Ns4