FIBA Basketball

    Fun for all at first ever Finnish edition of Basketball Without Borders Europe camp

    LOHJA (Basketball Without Borders) – Memories have been made for a life-time for those who took part in the recent Basketball Without Borders Europe 2016 camp which was held in Finland for the first time.

    LOHJA (Basketball Without Borders) – Memories have been made for a life-time for those who took part in the recent Basketball Without Borders Europe 2016 camp which was held in Finland for the very first time and marked the 15th anniversary of the joint NBA and FIBA initiative.

    Facilitated in Lohja, the event witnessed 40 of the top youth basketball players from 22 countries across Europe receive coaching and educational sessions from NBA players and coaches, with the highlight coming on the last day via the All-Star game and Camp MVP accolades being handed to Arnas Velicka of Lithuania and Sara Bejedi of Finland.


    The girls at the camp enjoyed themselves and the focus was on fun, as well as hard work and learning

    The importance of the camp was underlined by Hanno Mottola, the Finnish legend and first player from the host nation to step out in the NBA.

    "It’s a great next step for our development as a basketball country," he enthused.

    "Hopefully, in the next 5-10 years, there will be a whole lot more NBA players from Finland than just one."

    He also noted how special it was to have his college team-mate and 17-year NBA veteran Andre Miller, as a coach at the camp.



    "Having him come here in his first fall not playing means a lot to me," added Mottola.

    "I am sure the young players love him because he represents everything positive that basketball and the NBA are about.”

    The opening day of the camp had seen NBA Ambassador Vladimir Radmanovic of Serbia, Jerryd Bayless of the Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Jamahl Mosley offer their unique perspectives for an essential life skills session with the campers.

    The trio focused on the values of the game, including teamwork and leadership - as well as what the participants should aim to take away from the camp. There were also a number of sessions on the hardwood that concentrated on positional skill development, with evaluation scrimmages taking place.

    The hard work continued on the second day, with further evaluations and sessions around vertical leaping, baseline agility drills and positional skill development stations. The campers were also in their new teams after the camp draft.

    The penultimate day had many of the ‘bigs’ treated to some expert coaching in the post from Cole Aldrich and Spencer Hawes, while the guards were given demonstrations and one-on-one feedback from Jerryd Bayless and Beno Udrih.

    With almost a century of professional playing experience between them, the participants were doing their best to make the most of rare access to that knowledge.

    "It’s such an amazing opportunity to be coached by these guys who have reached the level we are all aiming for,” said British camper, Nelson Boachie-Yiadom.


    Hard work along with the smiles, was a theme in Finland - like at all BWB camps

    "The players and coaches like Jamahl (Mosley) are teaching me new techniques and pushing me to get better every day."

    The last day saw campers competing hard for a spot in the Final and also looking to be named as an All-Star. In the high-energy title game, Mosley, Mottola and Miller coached the Mavericks to a 51-47 win over the Timberwolves who were led by Ryan Saunders, Cole Aldrich and Vladimir Radmanovic.

    With Onuralp Bitim of Turkey taking the All-Star Game MVP award, the curtain came down on an even that will be filed as a major success for those who were fortunate enough to take part.

    FIBA