CANBERRA (Australia) - Young players from across Asia embracing the environment and coaching expertise on offer at the Basketball Without Borders Asia camp hosted by the Australian Institute of Sport.

This year, Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Asia, features the top 60 high-school age boys and girls from 15 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region, including the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 co-hosts, the Philippines, with five athletes taking part in the camp.

La John Andreas is proud to call the Philippines home and has been in awe of the facility, coaching staff and support provided by the BWB Asia camp.

"It’s amazing to have these coaches here, seeing the NBA coaches and players on the screens, and to have them actually here with us, interacting, making jokes and having fun, they are really good people," Andreas said. 

"I have found this camp so great, it is very competitive, not like anything I’ve ever seen before with people dunking on each other and it’s great to have that challenge."

My dream is to represent the Philippines in basketball and make my dad proud.

Also from the Philippines, Dianne Camille Nolasco is thriving in the competitive environment where she can integrate with players from all over Asia.

"It feels great because some of the people here were my teammates in Orlando in 2019 and I’ve seen them last month at the FIBA Under 16 Women’s Asian Championships where we played against each other, so it’s nice to be on the same team as them this time," Nolasco said.

"I’ve learned a lot from the NBA and WNBA players, I think the most important thing I have learnt from this camp is that I should always play my heart out."

Both Andreas and Nolasco are in Australia for the first time and while they are adjusting to the temperature, they both agree that the facility and camp have provided a valuable step in their basketball journey.

"My first time in Australia, I’m not used to playing in this type of temperature, because it is much hotter in the Philippines," Nolasco said.  "It feels good that through basketball, we get to meet a lot of people from different countries, and it feels good that we share the love for basketball."

"It’s not a bit cold here, it’s too much cold for me but the facility is great, it looks so good and built for basketball which is amazing," Andreas commented.

The Basketball Without Borders Asia camp can be followed at NBA.com/Australia and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and follow BWB using the hashtag #BWBAsia.

FIBA