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MUMBAI, April 24, 2018 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA National Finals, a four-day tournament to determine one boys team and one girls team that will represent India in the first Jr. NBA World Championship later this year in the US.
The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA National Finals will be held at The NBA Academy India in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) from April 29 - May 2.
The competition will bring together eight boys and eight girls teams composed of the top 10 players from each Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA City Tournament in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kerala, Kolkata, Mumbai and Punjab. The winning teams will then advance to the Jr. NBA World Championship from Aug. 7-12, 2018 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla.
The Jr. NBA World Championship, a first-of-its kind global youth basketball tournament for elite 13- and 14-year-old youth teams from around the world, will have boys and girls divisions, each comprised of 16 regional teams (eight US and eight international teams) that will receive all-expenses-paid trips to compete in the inaugural event.
The Jr. NBA World Championship will include round-robin competition followed by single-elimination tournaments. The winners of the US and international brackets will play in the World Championship game on Aug. 12.
“The Jr. NBA World Championship adds another significant layer to the NBA’s existing youth basketball programming and development efforts in India,” said NBA India Managing Director Yannick Colaco. “The new global youth basketball tournament will provide Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA participants with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase their skills on a global stage and learn the core values of the game from their peers from around the world.”
In addition to the on-court competition at the Jr. NBA World Championship, boys and girls from dozens of countries around the world will participate in off-court activities – often alongside current and former NBA and WNBA players. These activities will include life skills education, physical and mental wellness programming and NBA Cares community service projects.
The Jr. NBA World Championship will align with the NBA and USA Basketball Youth Guidelines, which promote player health and wellness and age- and stage-appropriate rules and standards. All coaches participating in the Jr. NBA World Championship will also be required to be trained and licensed.
The program is part of the NBA’s existing basketball and youth development initiatives in India. Since its launch in 2013, the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program has reached more than six million youth and trained more than 5,000 physical education instructors nationwide.
In April 2017, the NBA launched NBA Basketball School, a network of tuition-based basketball development programs around the world open to male and female players ages 6-18 from outside the US. The first NBA Basketball Schools were launched in New Delhi and Mumbai as part of a multiyear agreement with India On Track (IOT), one of India’s leading sports management, marketing and development companies.
The NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training center in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) for the top male and female prospects from throughout India and the first of its kind in the country, officially opened in May 2017. NBA Champion Kevin Durant became the first active NBA player to visit the academy in July 2017.
Students, parents, coaches and teachers can visit rf.jrnba.com, the official destination of The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program, to learn more. More information about the Jr. NBA World Championship can be found at jrnba.com/worldchampionship.
