MEXICO CITY (Mexico) - The third edition of the FIBA Americas Youth Development Program Elite Camp held this weekend at the National High-Performance Center (CNAR) of Mexico City, came to an end with the selection of five players to the FIBA Americas Elite Squad.

Mexicans Esteban Roacho, Juan Pablo Camargo, Yahir Gael Bonilla, Gibran Jair Belmonte, and Panamanian Aldimir Castillo were selected to the Elite Squad from the 24 participants.

The 5 players join Marcio Henrique da Costa, Matheus Leoni Brito, Guilherme Carvalho, Daniel Ifedi Ferreira, and Bruno Henrique Pedro, selected in Campinas, Brazil, and the Argentines Tomás Allende, Federico Copes, Esteban Cáffaro, Lucas Sigismonti and the Uruguayan Mateo Bianchi of the Camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"The Camp has been a very good experience for me as a player and as a person, I learned about discipline, respect, and brotherhood in a team. It is a great opportunity to exploit what it means to represent my country with dignity," said Panamanian Aldimir Castillo.

The YDP was attended by 7 coaches from Latin America, the Mexicans, Iván Déniz, Ronald Guillén, Oscar Franco, Enrique Zuñiga and Felipe Terrazas, the Salvadoran Ernesto Mauricio Lahud and the Panamanian Adriano Macías and, in addition, had the participation of 12 referees, who were selected to attend weekend activities at the Young Referees Camp, also at the CNAR.

"Having this type of camp is a good opportunity for the players of this age and it serves to visualize the talent of these countries and support the federations so that they prepare them and see how they work to develop other elite players. The important thing is that we have information to follow the players in the future and detect their development. The Latin American player stands out for his athletic ability and his ability to score, is an innate talent," said the Head Coach of the Mexican National Team Ivan Déniz, who gave a conference for coaches on the last day of the Camp.

The YPD focuses on the identification, development, and promotion of the best young athletes in the continent. FIBA’s mission with this program is to offer players the necessary tools to have an impact on their national teams, focusing on the development of youth and the development of basketball with a vision of the future. Its implementation phase began with Elite Camps in December 2018 and throughout the year 2019, with 2020 as the starting date for Elite Camp for women.

"It was amazing to be at a FIBA event. I learned that we have to know how to value opportunities, not make less or more of anybody because we all have equal opportunities, but we must do it with effort and dedication. It helps me in my game experience, confidence and to improve my playing ability," said forward Cristhian Aday Ponce, one of the two Guatemala players in the Camp.

The referees and players had four days full of sports activity in which they were part of anthropometric and physical assessments, fundamentals training, neuroscience, development of individual and team skills, dynamic player-referee, and coach-player conferences, as well as testimonials from Mexican players.

Israel Gutiérrez and Pedro "Pery" Meza were in hand for the player conferences during the four days of the Elite Camp.

"The Camp is development, if the young players can capitalize on it, it will be very helpful in their careers. It is very important for Mexican basketball to make this type of camp, where we can see the best talents from different countries in the world, as well as coaches and referees, living together in 4 days and achieving a synergy where everyone can gain knowledge and that the main beneficiaries are the young prospects and realize the potential they have," said Israel Gutiérrez.

The Youth Elite Camp is part of one of the key pillars of FIBA Americas, the Youth Development Program, which has the following objectives:
• Search and Develop the Young Elite Players in the Americas so that these participants raise the quality of their National Teams in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
• Establish a process to track and monitor young talents in their Evolution and Progression in the Region of the Americas.
• Work hand in hand with key stakeholders and National Federations to identify talent.

"When they told me that I was chosen to be at the Camp, the first thing I did was to thank them for giving me this opportunity. I was working very hard to be one of the chosen ones, among many who did the tests in El Salvador. The experience of the YDP will help me a lot in my future as a basketball player and when I arrive in my country, I want to tell my teammates in the national team everything I have learned," said Pedro Ramírez, one of the two prospects from El Salvador.

"The young players are motivated after the experience, training with the best players in the region and being coached by great coaches, it made a fantastic learning experience for them. I am proud to represent my country and be on the coaching staff of this great event," added Mauricio Ernesto Lahud, U14 national coach from El Salvador, present at the YDP.

FIBA