2014 Basketball without borders
By the end of summer 2014, the NBA and FIBA will have staged 39 BWB camps in 22 cities in 19 countries on five continents since 2003.
THE top young basketball talent from 20 African countries have been named ahead of the 12th edition of Basketball without Borders (BWB) Africa, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced on Tuesday July 29.
BWB is the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development programme that uses the sport to create positive social change in the areas of education, health and wellness, and will once again be held in Johannesburg from August 5 to 8.
More than 50 players from 20 countries will travel from all corners of the continent for the four-day camp. The players, ages 17 and under, were selected by FIBA, the NBA and participating federations, based on their basketball skills, leadership abilities and dedication to the sport.
Additionally, 25 elite female South African players, ages 18 and under, will take part in the BWB Girls Camp, with expert instruction from former WNBA players Kelley Cain and Clarisse Machanguana. Machanguana currently plays with the Mozambique Women’s National Team.
BWB not only focuses on improving basketball skills through basketball stations, daily scrimmages, and tournament play, but also includes daily life skills seminars, in partnership with Hoops 4 Hope, on topics such as leadership, character development, gender equality, and HIV/AIDS prevention and education.
NBA players expected to attend BWB Africa 2014 include 2014 All-Star DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors), Andrei Kirilenko (Brooklyn Nets), Greg Monroe (Detroit Pistons), Thabo Sefolosha (Atlanta Hawks), Roger Mason Jr. (formerly of the Miami Heat), and NBA legend and global ambassador, Dikembe Mutombo. NBA head coaches expected to attend the camp include Dwane Casey (Toronto Raptors), Lionel Hollins (Brooklyn Nets) and Brian Shaw (Denver Nuggets).
Masai Ujiri, President & General Manager, Basketball Operations (Toronto Raptors) and a Nigeria native, will serve as camp director.
By the end of summer 2014, the NBA and FIBA will have staged 39 BWB camps in 22 cities in 19 countries on five continents since 2003. BWB will have hosted more than 2 200 participants from more than 120 countries and territories. More than 150 different current and former NBA/WNBA players have joined nearly 140 NBA team personnel from all 30 NBA teams, with 33 BWB campers drafted into the NBA. This June, Joel Embiid became the highest-drafted BWB Africa camper ever when he was selected third overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. Embiid, a Cameroon native, participated in BWB Africa 2011 in Johannesburg.
Co-organised by the NBA and FIBA, this year’s camp features Nike, South African Airways, and Spalding as BWB Marketing Partners.
