Double French delight: Lacan and Diawara named MVPs of 19th BWB Europe camp

MILAN (Italy) - France basketball had reason to celebrate as French talents Leila Lacan and Mohamed Diawara were named Most Valuable Players of the 19th Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Europe camp, held by FIBA and the NBA. The French duo were among 60 boys and girls campers who spent four days in Milan receiving elite instruction about the world of professional basketball both on and off the court.

It was the first time the BWB Europe camp was held since 2019 in Latvia and it was the first camp in Italy since 2014 in Rome. A large majority of the campers were born in 2005 with some from the 2004 class, and they trained three days at the Sports Village Assago near the Mediolanum Forum Forum and then the final day at the Bocconi University facility in downtown Milan.

 The coaches included NBA players Danilo Gallinari (Atlanta Hawks; Italy; BWB Europe 2003), Terance Mann (LA Clippers; U.S.) and Kemba Walker (New York Knicks; U.S.), Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins (U.S.), NBA assistant coaches David Adelman (Nuggets; U.S.), Johnnie Bryant (New York Knicks; U.S.) and Edniesha Curry (Portland Trail Blazers; U.S.), former WNBA player Raffaella Masciadri (Italy) and Italy women's national team captain and Virtus Bologna forward Sabrina Cinili (Italy).

Girls MVP Laila Lacan of France

"It was a big surprise. I was not expecting to be MVP. I am very happy but mainly because we won the tournament with my team. And this was a plus," said the 2004-born Lacan, who was part of Maria Laterza's Liberty team that captured the girls championship with 25-14 win over Sparks.

"I was really happy to participate because I met people from all over Europe and also a different culture of coaches," added Lacan, who experienced the global game last summer in helping France take 10th place at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2021.

France's Mohamed Diawara was boys camp MVP

The boys winners were the Blazers, who defeated Grizzlies 23-17 in the championship game as Curry guided her team to an undefeated record. Diawara scored six points in the decider and was named the boys camp MVP.

"MVP and champion … all perfect. It was a big pleasure and I am happy to have this MVP trophy," said Diawara, who is expected to be one of France's leaders at this summer's FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022.

"On the court, I learned a lot about European basketball. Off the court, I did not know all the guys here so I had to talk to them to get to know them better."

Diawara appreciated the collaboration between FIBA and the NBA to make the camp possible, adding: "That's a good part of FIBA to help the NBA help us and help us get better."

The other awards saw Elsa Lemmila of Finland and Spaniard David Barbera win the Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award; Petra Toman of Hungary and German Esli Edigin take home the Defensive MVP award; while Raina Tomasicka of Latvia and France's Pacome Dadiet were 3-point champions.

The final day of activities also included a question-and-answer session with Gallinari, Walker, Mann and Masciadri. The current stars talked about the sacrifices they made while they were younger to achieve their greatness; the difference between a good and a great player; how to succeed as a small guard; how to forget things when they are going badly; and dealing with pressure before big games.

BWB Europe All-Stars

Girls: Elena Buenavida (Spain), Valentyna Kadlevoca (Czech Republic), Lelia Lacan (France), Agata Makurat (Poland), Dominique Malonga (France), Mihaela Panait (Romania), Annika Soltau (Germany), Raina Tomasicka (Latvia)

Boys: Izan Almansa (Spain), Pacome Dadiet (France), Sergio De Larrea (Spain), Mohamed Diawara (France),  Esli Edigin (Germany), Alvaro Folgueiras (Spain), Erik Makke (Estonia), Aday Mara (Spain), Leonardo Marangon (Italy) Tidjane Salaun (France), Alexandros Samodurov (Greece), Jan Vide (Slovenia).

FIBA