Ewing a giant letdown

MORE than 1,000 youngsters jam packed the Kowloon Indoor Games Hall yesterday to see one of the NBA's biggest stars in action but left disappointed after waiting almost two hours for the big man to take to the court.

New York Knicks star Patrick Ewing, on the last leg of a 10-day Asian tour, presented trophies to teams who played an exhibition match, shook hands with players and then played one-on-one with ex-college buddy, Mike Hancock for 10 minutes. But that was it.

The seven-foot centre refused to sign autographs and was quickly whisked away to his hotel without uttering a word to the crowd who had expected more showmanship from the two-time Olympic gold medallist, here to promote a line of sportswear.

Earlier, Ewing said at a press conference that he was ''shocked'' by his receptions in Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka and Taipei.

''The response has been very good. Basketball is growing all over the world,'' he said.