BALI, Indonesia -- Young leaders from 15 nations across South East Asia and the Pacific region will gather in Bali, Indonesia to attend the IBF Youth Leadership Cup on September 7-10.

In what is the culmination of the IBF Youth Leadership Seminar Program that started in Singapore last June; an international U18 Mixed 3X3 tournament will take place, featuring a leadership workshop.

The young leaders will gather again, this time bringing a team of two female and two male players who won the Mixed Qualifying Event they organized in their respective countries, using the skills and technical proficiency they learned during the seminar.

The final tournament will be held alongside a leadership workshop for all players, which will be presided by former South Africa Basketball captain and Reach Sports Management founder Mthoko Madonda, who was also part of the program in Singapore and the Youth Lions Cup in Africa last year.

The program is spearheaded by FIBA's Foundation, the International Basketball Foundation (IBF) and is a key example of how the organization is continuing to use basketball as a tool to help to improve communities with engagement, participation, and inclusivity. FIBA Oceania Executive Director David Crocker greatly promoted the importance of this.

“This is an exciting and great initiative that has seen some great young people brought together to build on their leadership skills and really drive change in their regions. The opportunity to build and support a network of young people who all share a passion for both the game and making their communities greater is an extremely important thing for FIBA to be a part of,” said Crocker.

"We are excited to see how they will share their experiences in their respective countries. With a larger audience, they can now hopefully bring other people together in the social aspect of using basketball as a tool.” He added.

Participating countries and their elected representatives for the Youth Leadership Seminar are:
INDONESIA - Laurentius Oei
SINGAPORE - Wan Qing Chin
BRUNEI - Ruby Ang
MALAYSIA - Zhong Shin Thea
CAMBODIA - Sunleang Dy
MYANMAR - Min Zin Thun
THAILAND - Pornutcha Sawatong
VIETNAM - Lam Quach Trung
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS - Liamwar Rangamar
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - Anderson Hewe
PHILIPPINES - Amanda Alejandrino
GUAM - Kali Benavente
LAOS - Vontavanh Kompadith
TIMOR LESTE - Virginia Da Cruz
FIJI - Tiyana Kainamoli

- Rowan Harrip