HCM City — The Jr. NBA (Junior National Basketball), the league’s global youth basketball participation programme, will reach more than 8,000 boys and girls between the ages of 10 to 14 in its fifth edition in Việt Nam.

The program kicked off last weekend with an open clinic for boys and girls and a coaches’ clinic at the Hồ Xuân Hương Stadium in HCM City. It will run through June 2018. 

The programme includes a series of school clinics, followed by the first selection camp on March 31 in Hà Nội and the second selection camp in HCM City on April 14, where the top 32 boys and top 32 girls will be selected to advance to the Jr. NBA National Training Camp in HCM City from June 22-24.

Participants are trained in the fundamentals of basketball and learn about the importance of proper nutrition as well as the Jr. NBA’s core values of sportsmanship, teamwork, a positive attitude and respect. 

“Basketball has experienced incredible growth in Việt Nam since the launch of the Jr. NBA in 2014,” said NBA Asia Vice President, Global Marketing Partnerships Francesco Suarez.  “With the return of the programme for the fifth consecutive year, we are investing more than ever in youth development to get even more Vietnamese kids active and healthy through sport and create a lasting positive impact on their lives.”                                                                                                                       

The Jr. NBA teaches the fundamental skills as well as the core values of the game at the grassroots level in an effort to help grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents. During the 2017-18 season, the NBA will reach more than 26 million youth in 71 countries through a variety of camps, clinics, skills challenges, league play and outreach events. — VNS