The Hong Kong adidas Streetball Challenge champions are ready to pit their skills against elite young basketball players from the region at the 2004 Asian finals in Seoul this weekend. The boys' under-19 winners - So Yi-chun, Wong Chun-wai, Lo Yi-ting and Tse Man-chun - and girls' under-19 champions - Kwong Shuk-ching, Lau cho-yi, Hung Yat-na and Wong Ki-ki - flew to South Korea yesterday for the two-day tournament at Lotte World Amusement Park in the capital city. The Hong Kong boys have won the regional championship three times over the past four years since it was launched in Taipei in 1999. The event was cancelled last year due to the Sars outbreak. Up against strong teams from mainland China, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, the Hong Kong squads have set their sights on advancing to the semi-finals. 'Other teams should be really strong, with tall players in their lineups,' said centre Wong Chun-wai, himself a towering figure at 1.94 metres. 'We'll play our style. We should have certain advantages with our speedy play and our never-say-die spirit.' The boys hope to claim back the title from 2002 winners the Philippines, although So - a forward - is suffering a minor leg injury. 'We have confidence. We believe we have the ability to do well,' said guard Lo, who won the top-scorer award at the recently-concluded Nike All-Hong Kong Youth Basketball League. The girls said they would use more in-and-out tactics and put up better defence against taller players from the mainland, South Korea and Taiwan. Guard Hung said: 'It's a really good opportunity for us to see how good other Asian players are.' Apart from the three-on-three games, the players will take part in slam-dunk and three-point shooting contests. They will also have a chance to meet NBA players - guards Jerry Stackhouse of the Dallas Mavericks and the 2002 No 2 draft pick Jay Williams, who missed the entire NBA season last year after a motorcycle accident - at a coaching clinic today.