India successfully hosted the 10th edition of the Basketball Without Borders Asia 2018 camp in Greater Noida, where 66 young cagers from 16 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region trained and competed under the watchful eyes of coaches from the United States’ National Basketball Association, or NBA.
There were 18 girls and seven boys from India among the campers, who trained under current and former NBA players such as Corey Brewer (Oklahoma City Thunder), Caris LeVert (Brooklyn Nets), Kelly Olynyk (Miami Heat), Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks), and former Women’s NBA cagers Ruth Riley and Ebony Hoffman. Indian basketball stars Satnam Singh and Amjyot Singh Gill also coached the young campers, all aged under 17.
The camp was held at the NBA Academy in Greater Noida and lasted for four days. Players and coaches led the campers through a variety of activities on and off the court, including movement efficiency, positional skill development, shooting and skills competitions, five-on-five games, and daily life skills seminars focusing on health, leadership and communication.
On the final day of the camp on Saturday, two All-Star teams each for boys and girls were announced, followed by a match between them. After the matches concluded, India’s Sanjana Ramesh, 17, was crowned the Most Valuable Player, or MVP, among the girls, while Philippines’ Rence ‘Forthsky’ Padrigao won the honour on the boys’ side.
“Whatever I have learnt here playing with international players and coaches I am going to take that back and share the knowledge with my fellow [Indian] players and coaches,” said the 5’8”-tall Sanjana, who plays as a forward and has captained India at the Under-16 Asian Championship last year. “Basketball is my life and these four days at the camp were the best I have had in my life,” she added.
Two Indian boys – Amaan Sandhu, 15, and Princepal Singh, 16 – have also been drafted into the annual Basketball without Borders Global Camp, which is a showcase for top NBA Draft-eligible prospects from outside the USA. The Global Camp will be held in Italy later this month.
The NBA and the international basketball federation, FIBA, have staged 53 Basketball Without Borders camps in 34 cities across 27 countries and six continents so far. The camps have hosted more than 3,190 participants so far from 127 different countries.
More than 250 different current and former NBA/WNBA players have joined more than 200 NBA team personnel from all 30 NBA teams, while 47 campers have been drafted into the premier American basketball league so far.
This was the second time India was hosting the Basketball Without Borders camp after 2008, when India’s current international Vishesh Bhriguvanshi was named the camp’s MVP. The inaugural camp took place in July 2001.
India’s NBA Academy also hosted its first women’s camp prior to Basketball Without Borders Asia 2018, in which Sanjana Ramesh and Vaishnavi Yadav were crowned Co-MVPs.