OT: Spurs at Basketball Without Borders

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The good work that Basketball Without Borders does throughout the world deserves its own thread, I think, and so it's good to highlight that and the involvement of our Spurs in them. So in the order original reporting:

Popovich's summer plans include trip to Serbia

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's summer plans include a trip to his ancestral homeland.

Popovich will head the list of coaches participating in the 17th edition of Basketball Without Borders Europe on Aug. 15-18 at the Zarkovo Sports Hall in Belgrade, the NBA, the International Basketball Federation and the Basketball Federation of Serbia announced Thursday.

The event marks the first time the NBA and FIBA's global basketball development and community outreach will be held in Serbia.

BWB Europe 2018 will feature the top male and female players ages 17 and under from throughout Europe. NBA and FIBA players, legends and coaches, including Popovich, will tutor them.

Other NBA coaches who will work with Popovich include Indiana assistant Popeye Jones and Brooklyn assistant Jacque Vaughn, a former Spurs player and assistant....

Popovich's trip to Europe will come after he oversees the USA Basketball training camp July 25-27 in Las Vegas.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/article/Popovich-s-summer-plans-include-trip-to-Serbia-13051280.php


BJELICA, BOGDANOVIC, HARRIS, JOKIC, KAMINSKY, JOIN DIVAC, STOJAKOVIC, JONES, POPOVICH AND VAUGHN FOR FIRST BASKETBALL WITHOUT BORDERS CAMP IN SERBIA
NBA, FIBA and Serbian Basketball Federation to Host 17th edition of #BWBEurope

“Hosting Basketball Without Borders in Belgrade is symbolic for the NBA since the first BWB camp brought together 50 young men from Eastern Europe more than 15 years ago,” said NBA Senior Vice President, International Basketball Operations, Kim Bohuny. “The region has a deep connection to and history with the sport of basketball, and the level of talent in the region and throughout Europe is at an all-time high. We look forward to providing the top young players on the continent with an opportunity to learn from and compete against one another.”

BWB Europe 2018 will feature a number of current and former NBA players including Nemanja Bjelica (Minnesota Timberwolves, Serbia); Bogdan Bogdanovic (Sacramento Kings, Serbia); Gary Harris (Denver Nuggets, USA); Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets, Serbia) and Frank Kaminsky (Charlotte Hornets, USA/Serbia). Vlade Divac (Sacramento Kings, Serbia) and Peja Stojakovic (Sacramento Kings, Serbia) who both took part in the inaugural 2001 BWB Europe camp will also attend, with additional players, former players to be announced.

NBA Coaches Popeye Jones (Indiana Pacers, USA); Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs, USA) and Jacque Vaughn (Brooklyn Nets, USA) will serve as BWB Europe coaches with additional coaches and coaching staff to be announced. Marin Sedlacek (Philadelphia 76ers, Serbia) and Patrick Hunt (President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches) will serve as camp directors.

BWB Europe 2018 will also include NBA Cares community outreach efforts with youth in Belgrade, including packing and delivering care packages to young people dealing with illnesses.

Nike, a BWB global partner since 2002, will outfit the campers and coaches with Nike apparel and footwear.

BWB has reached more than 3,200 participants from 127 countries and territories since 2001, with more than 55 former campers drafted into the NBA or signed as free agents. A record 24 former BWB campers were on opening-night rosters for the 2017-18 season, including Milos Teodosic (LA Clippers; Serbia; BWB Europe 2001).

The NBA and FIBA have staged 54 BWB camps in 34 cities across 27 countries on six continents. More than 260 current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players have joined more than 200 NBA team personnel from all 30 NBA teams to support BWB across the world.

Follow BWB using the hashtag #BWBEurope on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

BWB Asia 2018 was held in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), India from May 30 – June 2. BWB Africa 2018 will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa from Aug. 1 – 4.

https://www.nba.com/spurs/bjelica-bogdanovic-harris-jokic-kaminsky-join-divac-stojakovic-jones-popovich-and-vaughn-first

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Some Spurs are in South Africa for Basketball Without Borders and will participate in Saturday's game.

Ettore Messina will coach Team World on which Rudy Gay will play. Spurs athletic trainer, Will Sevening, will also participate.

Rosters finalized for NBA Africa Game 2018
Game will be played in support of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and will air live in sub-Saharan Africa on Kwesé Free Sports and Kwesé Sports 1

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced today the full roster of players and coaches who will participate in the NBA Africa Game 2018, the NBA’s third game in Africa, which will take place Saturday, Aug. 4 at 5:00 pm CAT at Sun Arena at Time Square in Pretoria, South Africa.

The NBA Africa Game 2018 will once again feature a Team Africa vs. Team World format. Team Africa will be composed of players born in Africa or with direct family ties to the continent, and Team World will be composed of players from the rest of the world. Tickets are available by visiting Computicket.com or Computicket’s retail outlets in South Africa.

The NBA Africa Game 2018 will take place following the 16th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa. In honor of the centenary of Nelson Mandela, the game will be played in support of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

The NBA Africa Game 2018 will air live in sub-Saharan Africa on Kwesé Free Sports, Kwesé Sports 1, the Kwesé TV app, as well as Kwesé’s partner pay-TV and free-to-air channels.

The NBA has held two sold-out Africa Games, in Johannesburg in 2015 and 2017, in support of charities including the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs of South Africa, SOS Children’s Villages South Africa (SOSCVSA) and UNICEF....

For more information, fans can register at www.NBA.com/AfricaGame, visit www.NBA.com/Africa, and follow the NBA on Facebook (NBA Africa) and Twitter (@NBA_Africa).

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/07/27/nba-africa-game-2018-rosters-set-official-release?cid=nbatvsocial_tw_sf194480047&sf194480047=1

Link also provides rosters for both teams.

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spurs.com has a gallery of photos of their experience so far: Rudy and Ettore in Africa

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Rudy and Middleton are both wearing #22 for Team World?

Also, Swin Cash just entered the game for Team World. I like it. Looking for a Rudy-Swin UConn connection for some points.

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Gallo was named game MVP

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The game was entertaining overall, and got quite competitive towards the latter half of the fourth when Team Africa brought the lead down to four and the teams increased their intensity on both ends.

Even before that, though, Ettore Messina had a game plan that Team World executed: they were playing some decent D with solid closeouts on shooters, forced a shot clock violation, doubled Joel through much of the second half, and Ettore called timely TOs to stem Team Africa's runs.

Rudy had a solid showing, mostly with some good court awareness. Though he looked a little heavy in his movement at times, he hustled for rebounds, passed ahead on a fast break to an open McGee for a dunk, and then made this sweet bounce pass for a Team World bucket:

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Of course, with Team Africa 0-2 in these games, they wanted to close the gap; Team World players likely didn't want to have to put up with Joel trash talking about a win for the rest of the year.

Enthusiastic crowd. A wonderful experience for them and for everyone on both teams.

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Between the third and fourth quarters, four little Jr. NBAers chose to play against Joel to raise funds for the Nelson Mandela Foundation:

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BWB Africa mentoring and affecting positive change on the court :

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Young players learn from NBA, WNBA standouts at 2018 Basketball Without Borders camp in Africa

At the camp, 78 of the leading boys and girls from 29 countries in Africa learn how to be better basketball players as well as teach them skills to help inspire others through a series of events designed to help leave a lasting mark on their communities.


WNBA legend Swin Cash goes over drills with the campers at Wednesday's camp.


Harrison Barnes and Rudy Gay look on during a Basketball Without Boarders Africa camp drill Wednesday.

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/08/02/nba-africa-basketball-without-borders-camp-africa

For more info about BWB and recaps of previous camps, go to: http://global.nba.com/basketball-without-borders/

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BWB Africa and Habitat for Humanity helping local communities:

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In pictures: NBA stars building homes at Habitat for Humanity

When searching for the Habitat for Humanity site in Johannesburg on Google Maps, you have to input the co-ordinates: -26.383030,27.793251. You won't find it otherwise, and even with then it's labelled 'unknown location' on an 'unknown road'.

The area will soon be known, the people who live there literally put on the map, as 10 houses are in the process of being built at the Lawley Extension site, with the help of volunteers like the NBA players who laid bricks, painted walls, and mixed cement on Thursday.


San Antonio Spurs Rudy Gay was always in the action, moving from one task to another. When a reporter asked to speak to him, he politely said he'd do it later as he wanted to help as much as he could in the two hours they were there. Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24276272/in-pictures-nba-stars-build-houses-habitat-humanity

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For the rest of the photos of Rudy at BWB Africa, go to: https://www.nba.com/spurs/gallery/rudy-gay-basketball-without-borders




For the rest of the photos of Rudy at the NBA Africa Game, go to: https://www.nba.com/spurs/gallery/rudy-nba-africa-game-2018

Spurs' Messina praised for NBA Africa Game coaching job

Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina received some love from one of the players he coached at the NBA Africa Game in Pretoria, South Africa.

The Messina-coached Team World defeated Team Africa 96-92 on Saturday.

"He did a great job of just drawing up plays," Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside told the Heat's website, per the Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman. "There was so much movement. He made it easy, it was easy."

Spurs forward Rudy Gay scored three points, corralled four rebounds, dished out four assists and notched three steals in 25 minutes for Team World.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/article/Spurs-Messina-praised-for-NBA-Africa-Game-13135224.php

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Coming up later this week:

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On to BWB Europe in Serbia:

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[mikejames23]

I once met a man there - Mozambique. Tall, 7 feet 1. He had no talent at all. Yet, everytime he went down the court, I could sweat. He was a brilliant combination of Greg Oden and Marcus Morris. They are so well hidden that no one has any damned idea. I would actually hire a scouting division to really really spy gate some of these nations. I suspect we can buy a rich man's Thon Maker somewhere.

Or who knows, Hakeem?

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I once met a man there - Mozambique. Tall, 7 feet 1. He had no talent at all. Yet, everytime he went down the court, I could sweat. He was a brilliant combination of Greg Oden and Marcus Morris. They are so well hidden that no one has any damned idea. I would actually hire a scouting division to really really spy gate some of these nations. I suspect we can buy a rich man's Thon Maker somewhere.

Or who knows, Hakeem?

No doubt that part of the point of these outreach programs is scouting while sharing and strengthening development. It's good for everyone involved; better relationships, fundamentals, coaches, and players improves the game wherever it is played.

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Day 1 of BWB Europe in Serbia (15-8-2018):

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"In Basketball Without Borders 2018, organized by NBA, FIBA and KSS, in the presence of the big names of world basketball!!!"
(For any Serbian speakers, I'm using Google translator, so please excuse errors, and feel free to amend, thanks).

EDIT to add:


Serbian Prospects commentary about the BWB Europe program posted with the picture:

At the starting of Day 1, players had Life Skills Seminar where @pedjastojakovic , @bokinachbar , @fskpart3 , @sonjapetrovic5 and Ana Dabović spoke to future stars. After that, Opening Ceremony was being held. Later, young players had Positional Skills Development where they’ve done drills with Nba coaches and stars. When all that was finished, Evaluation Scrimmages started. All players were separeted in different teams. Langović had great performance for his team. He was scoring around the paint, dunked few times, picked up some rebs, blocked shots and protected the rim. Pokuševski was solid, but he had troubles to fit in center’s role. Coach of his team should’ve put him on his natural position. Popović brought good energy in his team, played good on both ends.
Pažin was shooting good as usual. Živanović had some attractive moves. Evaluation Scrimmages were just warming up for selecetion of teams, real games will start second day.

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