First-ever Basketball Without Borders camp in Bahamas a big hit

NASSAU (Basketball without Borders) - The Bahamas is a popular destination for people around the world when it comes to getting some fun and sun but for the past several days, it was a hotbed of basketball learning for youngsters in the region.

For the first time, a Basketball Without Borders (BWB) camp was held in the country with top 66 boys and girls (born in 2000) from 16 countries and territories from the Americas taking part.

The event, organized by the NBA, FIBA and the Bahamas Basketball Federation, had a constant buzz and one reason for that was the presence of players like Dwight Powell, Tiago Splitter, Anderson Varejao, Acie Law and Ebony Hoffman.

On opening day, each answered questions from the boys and girls about playing in the NBA and WNBA before the campers had a round of morning positions skills stations before playing scrimmage games.

There was also a Jr. NBA clinic on the first day, one that was attended by more than 60 local youth from a primary school and an orphanage. The children got to work on their passing, shooting and rebounding skills alongside professional players at the camp.

There was also a referee clinic for Bahamas game officials. That night, a draft was held for the camp's coaches and they selected players for teams that were to compete over the next few days.

On Day Two, there were NBA Combine-style evaluations in the morning, while boys and girls continued to work on positional skill development with the camp staff. The teams that were put together at the draft then started to play games.

Campers received instruction from the coaches and the professional players during and after each game.

On Day Three, the morning began with a 3-point shooting competition, positional skill development and practices and then in the afternoon, all of the campers played in another series of games.

A BWB Coaching Clinic followed the day's games. The aim was to help advance the game of basketball in the Bahamas and teach NBA and WNBA concepts. The final daily referee clinic was also held for Bahamas Basketball Federation referees, who were also officiating the campers' games.

The fourth and final day of the BWB Americas 2017 closed with a bang as the campers competed in playoff games and a pair of All-Star Games. In the morning, the four boys teams played in semi-final, consolation and championship games. The two girls teams played a single championship game.

The boys BWB Americas 2017 overall camp MVP was Francisco Farabello of Argentina while the girls overall camp MVP was Esmery Dahiana Martinez of the Dominican Republic.

FIBA