by Anthony Suntay
WHILE Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers enjoy the spoils of their victory, not everyone in the National Basketball Association is having their vacation.
This time of the year is very busy, especially for assistant coaches, retired stars, and the regional office executives.
Last month, I was fortunate to have been invited to watch and cover the NBA Basketball without Borders program in Singapore.
This is an outreach endeavor that uses basketball to influence positive social change and they showcase past and present NBA players, with this year’s edition having Atlanta’s Al Horford, Houston’s Trevor Ariza, Minnesota’s Corey Brewer, Sacramento’s Francisco Garcia, and Chicago’s Taj Gibson, and former hoopster’s Bob McAdoo and Joe Wolf.
The program incorporates basketball instruction and educational programs that create a forum for important social issues like HIV/AIDS prevention, while emphasizing the importance of education, health, and wellness.
It has been staged in 10 countries and territories on five continents since its start in 2001. They have traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa; Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Beijing and Shanghai, China; Vilnius, Lithuania; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Paris, France; Istanbul, Turkey; Mexico City, Mexico; and New Delhi, India.
This year, they brought together 44 of the top players, aged 19 years and below, in the FIBA Asia zone, Australia, and New Zealand.
It was a four-day event that included daily clinics and full-court games, coupled with visits to an orphanage and teaching the less privileged.
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This week, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra will visit Manila and stay until next Friday, as part of the NBA FIT program.
Started in 2007, NBA FIT is the league’s comprehensive health and wellness platform promoting healthy, active lifestyles for children and adults. It promotes physical activity, nutrition and healthy choices through partnerships, events, and products that motivate and inspire a balanced, healthy lifestyle at school, work and home.
Together with local health, fitness and wellness experts, as well as experts from the NBA such as Spoelstra, it aims to educate individuals and families on the physical, mental and emotional benefits of healthy living; and motivate and inspire kids and adults to live healthier lives through events like the Clinic, Development Camp, and Fun Run.
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Finally, next month, the NBA will stage another Asia Challenge, with former cage greats Gary Payton, Glen Rice, Chris Webber, and Mitch Ritchmond suiting up with D-League players versus past and present Philippine Basketball Association superstars. Last year’s edition had Vlade Divac, Robert Horry, Tim Hardaway and Dominique Wilkins and the Filipino fans were thrilled to no end, so this year’s game should be even better since the format will have the teams split evenly. Last year, the NBA group were pit against the PBA squad.
So, we will still get our NBA fix even during the off-season!
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Listen to Real Sports later today on Wave 891 at 2:15pm! We will air our interview with Dean Cooper, an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who is the camp director of the NBA-BWB. It is a very interesting chat as he discusses the camp, and the difficult life of an NBA coach. Have a great weekend! God Bless! Email me at realsports891@yahoo.com
