BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) – The second edition of the FIBA Americas Youth Development Program Elite Camp started in Argentina’s National Athletic High-Performance Center (CENARD) and in Club Obras Sanitarias. Expectations are high and the calendar is full of training sessions for the participants.

The YDP will take place until the 14, in Buenos Aires, and will feature 24 high-level youth prospects that were born from 2002 to 2005 and come from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. It will also bring together 20 young referees from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Panama.

This is the second YDP edition and this time it will take place in the National Athletic High-Performance Center (CENARD) and in Obras Sanitarias, in the capital city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, from April 11 to 14, 2019.

“I'm very happy and I have no words to express in the face of this great opportunity. I think they chose me because of my effort, how much I want to play, and this is a very beautiful feeling that I must make the most out of. The first day was active, we warmed up, they evaluated our jumps, and we had a media day, where they took our pictures,” said 6’3” Argentine player Tomás Allende, who’s one of the young prospects that were chosen for the Camp.

FIBA Americas and the Argentine Basketball Confederation are the hosts for this edition. The entire program will include several camps and will develop young talents, based on three pillars: bolstering a greater access to basketball for young athletes, granting them more opportunities to develop their game, and creating a platform for young elite players in the Americas.

To close the first day of the camp, the players underwent anthropometric measurements and physical evaluations. 

“The first day the physical experts welcomed and evaluated the players. Then, on the second day, the basketball activities commenced, as well as others that are important so that the guys meet with diverse specialist that will collaborate on their athletic and personal development. The camp has high technical and physical development activities for kids that stand out in their respective countries, but that need to improve details of their individual fundamentals,” said Diego Lifschitz, Argentine national team coach.

The camp will include sessions for skills development, nutrition and game psychology conferences, team practices, and five on five games in charge of coaches from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

“It’s an honor and a joy to share moments, not only with coaches, but with the guys, of something that we have been doing for many years, which is basketball. Enjoying these moments is very important, it allows you to grow, both from the athletic and personal point of view. Spending time together and catching up is a great opportunity that doesn’t happen every day. I will try to make these guys evolve according to our work plans. We’ll try to develop the best possible potential,” stated Marcelo Capalbo, Uruguayan national team coach.

The second day of the Camp (April 12) began with the inaugural press conference, that featured FIBA President, Mr. Horacio Muratore; Argentine Basketball Confederation President, Mr. Federico Susbielles; FIBA Americas Executive Director, Mr. Carlos Alves; and National Sports Agency Executive Director, Mr. Diógenes de Urquiza.

“It’s a source of pride to launch the YDP in my last year. We're currently in the five continents working toward achieving this project. This program is an appendix of the great development program that FIBA began in 2014, in Seville, and we're doing so hand in hand with our national federations,” said FIBA President Horacio Muratore.

FIBA President, Horacio Muratore

“The Argentine Basketball Confederation helped a lot and with this program we can detect the kids that we're going to prepare for them to be the players of the 2023 and 2027 national teams. We started the program in Brazil and now we continue it in Argentina, we will then go to Mexico and Puerto Rico, including all Caribbean islands,” added Muratore.

For his part, CABB President Federico Susbielles, stated: “It's a joy to welcome FIBA to our home. We celebrate this kind of initiative. CABB has had a development platform for some years now, and that's what we all work for: growing and developing basketball.”

CABB President, Federico Susbielles

“It's an honor to be here. The most important thing is to develop the youth we have and to meet the requirements of the four strategic pillars of FIBA Americas. Last year we visited 20 federations where FIBA will invest financially, and with human and economic resources, in order to develop the federations that have a great potential to evolve,” added FIBA Americas Executive Director Carlos Alves.

FIBA Americas Executive Director, Carlos Alves

“I thank FIBA for having trusted CENARD to host this Camp. All conditions are set for this to be a great Camp. CENARD is the house of basketball,” stated Diógenes de Urquiza, Executive Director of the National Sports Agency.

Executive Director of the National Sports Agency, Diógenes de Urquiza

The second day will continue with abilities development sessions and will conclude with team practices and five on five games.

The next five players that will be a part of the FIBA Americas Elite Squad will be announced on the last day of the camp.

“This is a very good experience to keep moving forward as a player and to gain experience. I'm also proud of having been called by FIBA and being the only Chilean in the Camp,” said 6’3” player Víctor Paulmann, who’s another one of the young players participating at the Camp.

The Youth Elite Camp bases itself in one of the key pillars of FIBA Americas, the Youth Development Program, who has the following objectives:
• Seek and develop the Elite Young Players in the Americas with a view to have these participants elevating the quality of their National Teams by the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and the Paris Olympic Games 2024
• Establish a process for tracking and monitoring young talent in their Evolution and Progression in the Americas Region
• Work hand in hand with Key Stakeholders and National Federations to identify the Talent.

The Program, which will be executed through individual camps and the development of young talent, is structured into three pillars: growing access of basketball to young athletes, giving more opportunities for them to develop their game and creating a platform for the elite youth players of the Americas. Its implementation phase will start with the children's’ Elite Camps in December of 2018 and during the whole 2019, with 2020 as the inaugural date for the Girls’ Elite Camp.

Campinas hosted the first of several camps to be held in the Americas. Future FIBA Youth Elite Camps are scheduled for Central America and the Caribbean, culminating in a FIBA Americas Regional Camp and World Camp next year.

FIBA