Begarin, Montero, Gonzalez, Russell among headliners at BWB Global Camp 2020

MIES (Switzerland)/NEW YORK (U.S)  - Many of the world's top young talents will converge on Chicago for the NBA All-Star 2020 as they take part in the Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Global Camp. Some of the top headliners looking forward to receiving top-level coaching at the annual event are Juhann Begarin of France, Dominican Republic's Jean Montero, Daniela Gonzalez of Colombia and Merissah Russell of Canada.

A total of 64 boys and girls campers from 34 countries and regions will participate in the sixth Global Camp from February 14-16. And they will get tips from the likes of Cameroon's Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors; Latvian Davis Bertans of the Washington Wizards; Senegalese Tacko Fall from the Boston Celtics; and Finland's Lauri Markkanen of the Chicago Bulls; as well as former WNBA players Ashley Battle, Michele Van Gorp and Ebony Hoffman.

Juhann Begarin - France

Begarin was the MVP of the BWB Europe Camp in 2019 and is one of the next top talents for France. He helped France reach the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2018 and played at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2019.

Jean Montero - Dominican Republic

Montero took home MVP honors at the BWB Americas Camp and has already played in numerous international tournaments for Dominican Republic. He was two years younger and helped the Dominican get a top-five showing at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017 and then played at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018. He guided his country to third place at the FIBA U16 Americas tournament last summer to qualify for this year's U17 World Cup. Montero then led the FIBA U17 CentroBasket Championship 2019 in scoring but the Dominicans finished fourth and missed a chance to reach the FIBA U18 Americas Championship 2020 - and with it, an opportunity to compete for a spot in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2021.

Jonathan Kuminga - Democratic Republic of Congo

Probably the top African player in the camp is Kuminga, who is one of the top high school players in the United States in the 2021 high school class and whose cousin is Emmanuel Mudiay.

Kai Sotto - Philippines

Sotto is one of the biggest prospects in Asia and Philippines' next hope for greatness. And the center talent has already made his presence felt at the international level. He helped Philippines to the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2017 and qualify for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018 - the first time the country took part in the event since 2014. In 2018, Sotta played at the U17 World Cup as well as the FIBA U18 Asian Championship, where the country took fourth place. And last summer Sotto starred at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019.

 

Among the other top boys campers are Nigerian Oluwatobi Samuel Ariyibi, who was the MVP of the BWB Africa Camp, BWB Asia Camp MVP Yeo Jun Seok of Korea, Australians Tamuri Wigness and Josh Giddey, Lithuanian Augustas Marciulionis, the German duo of Ariel Hukporti and Luc van Slooten and Juan Fernandez of Argentina.

 

On the girls side, Merissah Russell of Canada and Daniela Gonzalez of Colombia both played at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2019. Gonzalez also has appeared for Colombia at the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2019 and the FIBA Women's Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Americas 2019.

Anna Gret Asi, who was named as the MVP of the BWB Europe Camp, has already played big minutes for Estonia at the senior level in the FIBA Women's EuroBasket Qualifiers.

Mama Dembele meanwhile helped Spain finish third at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2019. And France's Serena Kessler took home a third-place medal from the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship 2019. And Harsimran Kaur of India is courting attention after honing her skills in FIBA 3x3 competitions.

FIBA