Basketball without Borders (BWB) Americas 2017 officially opened at Nassau’s Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium on Wednesday with a press conference, featuring NBA/WNBA/FIBA players, coaches and VIP guests who were on hand to welcome the campers and to thank all of those who were integral in the development of this camp such as Nike, the Bahamas Basketball Federation and the Bahamas Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. Top media from major Bahamian and international outlets were in attendance to cover the program and participate in a photo and interview session.
The campers, the top 66 boys and girls from 16 countries and territories from the Americas, started their day with a Life Skills session where they learned what to expect over the course of the camp. Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks; Canada), Tiago Splitter (Brazil), Anderson Varejao (Brazil), NBA Legend Acie Law (U.S.) and WNBA Legend Ebony Hoffman (U.S.) led the session, and they answered camper questions about playing in the NBA and WNBA. Whether in Spanish, Portuguese or English, there were plenty of questions to go around.
Campers then moved onto a round of morning position skills stations: point guards, wings and bigs. Afternoon scrimmages gave camp coaches a chance to evaluate the talent level of the players as the BWB Americas Draft will take place tonight.
Later in the day, more than 60 local youth from a primary school and an orphanage visited the BWB Americas’ camp for a much-anticipated Jr. NBA clinic. The clinic gave the kids the opportunity to work on their passing, shooting and rebounding skills alongside NBA and WNBA stars. The children were thrilled to share the court with some of the best players in the world, and they left the gym with happy faces and unforgettable memories.
The day ended with a referee clinic for Bahamas game officials, who are working the scrimmages and games during BWB Americas 2017.
After Wednesday’s draft, the campers will be back on the court Thursday to take part in combine-style evaluations and positional skill development in the morning before taking the court for games in the afternoon.
