By Debayan Mukherjee
Orlando, Aug 9 (IANS) Four Indian cagers from the country will head to Japan to take part in the 11th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Asia camp from August 14 to 17 in Tokyo, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) said in a statement on Friday.
The best 64 boys and girls from 18 countries and territories will participate in the meet.
This is for the second time that the NBA and FIBA's global basketball development and community outreach programme will be held in Japan. BWB Asia was previously conducted in Japan in 2012.
While Siya Deodhar and Amaan Sandhu will participate in their second successive Asia camp, Harsimran Kaur and Arvinder Singh will make their debut in the BWB Asia event.
Nagpur's Siya is the only cager from Maharashtra as all the other three players are from Punjab. Amaan is from Mohali, Harsimar is a resident of Jalandhar and Arvinder learned the basics of the sport in Barnala.
"Any kind of event that we do overseas, it helps the India kids to showcase their level and realise what's the level outside of the country," Marc Pulles, Basketball Operations Team Leader - NBA India, said.
"They all are also exposed to different ways of coaching and approaching the game. Also to share, talk to other international players which is also a good experience for them," he added.
BWB Asia 2019 will feature a number of current and former NBA players, including three-time NBA Champion Sam Cassell, two-time NBA Champion Kevon Looney (Golden State Warriors), Robin Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks) and Yuta Tabuse (formerly of the Phoenix Suns; Japan). Former WNBA players Ashley Battle, Allison Feaster and Yolanda Moore will also participate in the camp and coach the top high-school-age campers from throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Current NBA assistant coaches Pat Delany (Orlando Magic), Bryan Gates (Minnesota Timberwolves), Antonio Lang (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Wes Unseld Jr. (Denver Nuggets) will also serve as BWB Asia 2019 coaches. Patrick Hunt (President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches; Australia) will be the camp director. Jeff Tanaka (Chicago Bulls) will serve as the camp's athletic trainer.
Players and coaches will lead the campers through a variety of activities on and off the court, including movement efficiency, skill development stations, shooting and skills competitions, 5-on-5 games, and daily life skills seminars focusing on health, leadership and communication. One boy and one girl will be named BWB Asia MVPs at the conclusion of the camp. In addition, former NBA referee Joey Crawford will lead development sessions with local FIBA referees.
The NBA and FIBA have staged 60 BWB camps in 38 cities in 30 countries over six continents, reaching more than 3,500 participants from 129 countries and territories since 2001.
(Debayan Mukherjee can be reached at debayan.m@ians.in)
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