[ad_1]
The program kicked off with a draft event hosted by DCT Abu Dhabi and the NBA at the three-court facility on the NYU Abu Dhabi campus on Saturday, January 14. The 60 participating youth teams (30 men’s teams and 30 women’s teams) were assigned an NBA season team, received corresponding NBA team brand jerseys, and participated in basketball training, skill challenges and competitions. His Excellency Mohammad Khalifa Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, Ralph Rivera, Managing Director of NBA Europe and Middle East, Seven-time NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady and 10-year NBA Veteran Lewis Scola attended the event and interacted with the youth players.
HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “Abu Dhabi is contributing to the development of youth basketball globally as we encourage our young people to be active and enrich their lives through the values ​​of respect, teamwork and the game. It’s great to see the grassroots passion and excitement from our youth players, which will only spark more interest in the sport and pave the way for a new generation of homegrown sports talent, inspired by the Jr. NBA and many sports in Abu Dhabi. “
“We are delighted to partner with DCT Abu Dhabi to expand the Jr. NBA Abu Dhabi League and provide more Emirati youth with the opportunity to learn the fundamentals and core values ​​of the sport,” Rivera said. “There has been tremendous interest from local schools, so we are encouraged that the program has doubled in size and will only continue to grow and provide more opportunities for youth players and coaches to get involved in the sport.”
“It was fun to interact with the youth teams participating in the second Jr. NBA Abu Dhabi League and witness their excitement for the upcoming season,” McGrady said. “Basketball is a global game that transcends countries and cultures, and I am delighted to play a role in the development of basketball in Abu Dhabi.”
McGrady, a 15-year NBA veteran, retired in 2013, was selected to the NBA All-Star 7 times, was selected to the NBA All-NBA Team 7 times, scored 2 times in the NBA, and won the Most Improved Player Award in the NBA in 2013. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
Scola, a native Argentine, is now the CEO of Serie A Serie A Basketball League team Varese basketball. He and houston rockets In 2007 was elected NBA All-Rookie First Teambefore continuing the game phoenix suns, indiana pacers, toronto raptors and brooklyn nets During his ten-year NBA career.
The Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball program for boys and girls, teaches at the grassroots level the fundamental skills and core values ​​of the game — teamwork, respect, determination and community — in an effort to help youth basketball develop and improve players, coaches and parents experience of. The Jr. NBA Abu Dhabi League aims to promote the values ​​of the sport and encourage youth to lead an active and healthy lifestyle through participation in sports. During the 2022-23 season, the Jr. NBA will host 111 leagues across Europe and the Middle East, reaching a total of nearly 50,000 youth in 28 countries.
The partnership also sees DCT Abu Dhabi become the NBA’s Official Destination Partner in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and China under the UAE capital’s tourism promotion program ‘Experience Abu Dhabi’.
For more information on the Jr. NBA Abu Dhabi League, which will continue to be operated by Gulf Sports Media FZ LLC (trading as Sport360), visit OWQLO And follow Jr. NBA on Facebook (Facebook.com/jrnba), Instagram (@jrnba and @nbaarabic) and Twitter (@jrnba and @nbaarabic).
[ad_2]
Source link