NAIROBI (Kenya) - There is little doubt that the first FIBA Africa Youth Camp that was inaugurated in Nairobi on Monday was a great success and at the end, youth basketball can only drive forward.

The three-day Camp brought together 33 boys and 12 girls all under 18 years of age - and it was a beehive of activities at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium as they exhibited their skills.

The boys came from Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

From the Kenya camp, it was evident that the focus is on youth basketball, a vision of FIBA Executive Diretor Africa Alphonse Bile who really believes in the youth basketball and has always pushed to have more participations.

The annual elite camp is one of FIBA Africa Development Council programs, and is organised with the precious support of the NBA Africa.

Anibal Manave, the FIBA AFrica president and NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams presided over the launch in Nairobi.

The boys All-Camp team included: Vitumbuko Francisco Mlonela (Malawi), Connor Liebenberg (South Africa), Steward Matafu (Tanzania), Deng Makor Wutchok (Kenya) and Jek Ring Alek Aguek (South Sudan).

The 1.83m (6ft) Malawian youngster, who will turn 18 in November, dazzled the coaches and was declared the Most Valuable Player (MVP).

The girls All-Camp team consisted of Chelsea Achieng, Daisy Awino, Emily Musoso,Vanessa Marista (All Kenya) and Darlene Murungi Tashobya (Uganda).

The 1.60m (5 ft 3in) 16-year-old Daisy Awino also bagged the girls' MVP honours.

There were high quality coaches on hand to put the boys and girls through for three days. 

The technical team in Nairobi was led by Don Showalter (USA Basketball), Naoufal Uariachi (FIBA Expert), Joe Toumou, Ronnie Owino and former Cameroon international player Alfred Aboya.

"This is an important exercise that will really impact on the youth. In future, if coaches could visit the hosting countries a bit earlier for adequate preparation,” said Owino.

The next stop for the elite camp is slated for Saly (Senegal) September 10-14 and Abidjan (Cote D'Ivoire) September 15-19.

Each event is counting with the participation of coaches and players from more than ten countries.

The FIBA Africa Youth Camp will focus on life skills, focus on combining basketball and education, leadership, character development, health and wellness.

FIBA