2021 Underrated Tour Powered By Rakuten Provides Unparalleled Opportunity For 3-Star Basketball Athletes In Chicago And Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES and CHICAGO, Aug. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 

QUOTE HIGHLIGHTS:
"Play with confidence. Move with confidence. Play together. Make the right basketball play. That's what we want. You can't do that if you're nervous. Don't be nervous. Play. You are here because we believe in you."
Brandon Payne, NBA Skills and Performance Trainer (Stephen Curry's Personal On-Court Trainer)

"Getting to play in front of Stephen Curry's trainer, Brandon Payne, it's a lot of fun obviously, but it's a great opportunity for kids who aren't as highly recruited to get their name out there and compete. I'm just grateful for the opportunity"
Henry Vetter, Canterbury School, Chicago Tour Stop

"This gave me another opportunity to put my name out there and to showcase what I can do. It gave me a chance to further separate myself and all my hard work paid off. Like the name of the tour, I am underrated, so it pushes me to work and helps me learn other key skills to become better."
Nyla Walker, Example Academy, Chicago Tour Stop

"In 2019, I made the team to go to the Championship of the tour, but unfortunately COVID took that away from us. So, I came back a whole different athlete, a different mindset, and I just put it all on the court to make it back to the Championship."
Faith Okorie, Example Academy, Chicago Tour Stop

"I live in a small city in Canada(Winnipeg)and wanted to see if I could complete in the US and that's why I signed up for the Underrated Tour. I showed out my game and got far into Day 2 and I'm proud of that. It was our first time in California ever and our only goal was to stay focused on this experience and play basketball, not vacation."
Lorence De La Cruz, St. Paul High School, Los Angeles Tour Stop

"I wanted to attend to get recognized. Where I'm from, we don't get the exposure and we don't have a league to play in, so I wanted to come here and show what I got. Getting chosen to attend this tour was mini validation in a way and it feels really good to get some type of recognition. I got to meet so many girls, everyone is so good here and it's fun to compete with so many talented athletes."
Maria Gorbushin, Rancho Bernardo High School, Los Angeles Tour Stop

About The Underrated Tour Powered by Rakuten
The Underrated Tour Powered by Rakuten is back for a third year, this time across U.S. cardinal points: Kicking off with Washington, D.C. in the East (July 31^st – August 1^st), Dallas in the South (August 7^th-8^th), Chicago out North (August 13^th-14^th), Los Angeles out West (August 21^st-22^nd), with a championship close-out in the Bay Area in 2022.

Year 3 of the Underrated Tour Powered by Rakuten returns Stateside, bigger and better, after its international launch in 2019. All tour stops are co-gender and free, and the top eight girls and boys from each region (64 finalists plus a parent/ guardian), will be flown to the Bay Area Championship, courtesy of United Airlines. The 64 finalists will compete for two coveted spots in Curry's Under Armour Select Camp. Other offerings include the same specialized training from Stephen's on-court trainer, Brandon Payne, providing America's most promising athletes with best-in-class resources (drills, off-court education, personal skills development, expert panels, etc.), knowledge and exposure.

For more information on the Underrated Tour Powered by Rakuten, please visit us on online, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

About Rakuten: 
Rakuten, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to approximately 1.3 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has over 19,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

TOUR CONTACT
MYLINH CHAU/ mylinh@sc30.com 

PRESS CONTACT
ASHLEY OROZCO / MEDIARELATIONS@POSITIONSPORTS.COM

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SOURCE SC30