07/08/2017
BWB
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NBA and FIBA revel in success of 15th Basketball without Borders Africa camp

JOHANNESBURG (Basketball without Borders) - The NBA and FIBA teamed up with Basketball South Africa to host a resoundingly successful 15th edition of the Basketball without Borders (BWB) Africa camp in Johannesburg from August 2-5 and the event was capped off in style with the staging of the second NBA Africa Game on Saturday afternoon.


NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NBA Deputy Commission and FIBA Central Board and Executive Committee Member Mark Tatum and FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member Patrick Baumann were on hand to meet with the boys and girls that took part in the camp.

Silver and Baumann presented MVP awards to the top players.






They were then among the sellout crowd of 7,348 at the Ticketpro Dome witnessing the spectacular NBA Africa Game 2017, which saw Team World prevail 108-97 over Team Africa.


The exhibition game brought to a close a week of goodwill for the NBA and FIBA.

A total of 82 campers (59 boys and 23 girls) ages 17 and under from 26 African countries were put through their paces by NBA and FIBA players including BWB Africa graduates Joel Embiid (Cameroon; 2011) and Gorgui Dieng (Senegal; 2009). Other players turned coaches for the week included Republic of Congo native Serge Ibaka as well as European stars Dirk Nowitzki and Kristaps Porzingis and FIBA Basketball World Cup winner and Olympic gold medalist DeMarcus Cousins.


As well as taking part in on-court activities that included 5-on-5 games, learning and improving their movement efficiency as well as positional development and competing in shooting and skills competitions, the campers were also busy off the court through life skills seminars focusing on health, leadership and communication.

For the first time ever, the camp also included an NBA Africa Innovation Summit, which consisted of a series of fan engagement, youth development, community service, business and sports medicine events.

Launched in 2001, Basketball without Borders (BWB) is the NBA and FIBA's global basketball development and community outreach program. To date, 50 camps have been staged in 31 cities across 26 countries on six continents, reaching more than 2,780 participants from 134 countries and territories with 46 campers drafted into the NBA, including 9 from Africa.

FIBA