Jr. NBA Philippines All Star Alumi Paul Manalang Joins Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp

Paul Manalang with Jed Cedrick Colonia and John Mark Lagumen at the Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp held in Australia. Photo Credit: Evelyn Delos Reyes Manalang

Forty-five young cagers aged 15 to 17, including Jr. NBA Philippines All Star Alumni Paul Matthew Manalang, join the first Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp (BWB Asia) held at the Dandenong Basketball Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on June 23-26, 2016. This is in connection with the 15th anniversary of BWB, NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development community outreach program. Paul is being joined by two more Filipino players Jed Cedrick Colonia and John Mark Lagumen.

BWB Asia brought together the top male players from 17 countries from around the Asia-Pacific region to train with NBA and FIBA players, legends and coaches such as Aron Baynes (Detroit Pistons – Australia), Dante Exum and Joe Ingles (Utah Jazz – Australia), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks – US), and Patty Mills (San Antonio Spurs – Australia).

Joining them are former NBA players Bruce Bowen and David Robinson (US); current NBL players Igor Hadziomerovic, Majok Majok and Nate Tomlinson (Melbourne United – Australia), Daniel Kickert (Brisbane Bullets; Australia), and Lucas Walker (Adelaide 36’ers – Australia); former WNBA and WNBL player Lauren Jackson (Australia); former WNBL player Jan Stirling (Australia); and current NBL coaches Lanard Copeland (Sydney Kings – U.S./Australia), Dean Demopoulos (Melbourne United – U.S.), Andrew Gaze (Sydney Kings – Australia), and Mike Kelly (Melbourne United – U.S./Australia).

Current NBA assistant coaches Zach Guthrie (Utah Jazz), Charles Klask (Detroit Pistons), Jay Larranaga (Boston Celtics) and Jerry Stackhouse (Toronto Raptors; former NBA player; U.S.) will also serve as BWB Asia coaches. President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC) Patrick Hunt will serve as camp director.

Jr. NBA Philippines All Star Alumni Paul Manalang is trying to get past Dante Exum of Utah Jazz, during the tip off of Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp held in Australia. Photo Credit: Evelyn Delos Reyes Manalang

In addition to working with the campers on the court, NBA, FIBA and NBL players and coaches will lead extensive community outreach events through NBA Cares that will leave a lasting legacy in Melbourne and Geelong. These social responsibility efforts will focus on youth basketball development and teaching the values of the game, including teamwork, integrity and respect, on and off the court. Activities will include a Jr. NBA youth basketball clinic, an NBA Cares court dedication, a Jr. NBA wheelchair basketball exhibition game and clinics and life skills sessions with campers.

Since 2001, BWB has reached more than 2,500 participants from 130 countries and territories, with 37 campers drafted into the NBA. Twenty-one former BWB campers were on opening-night rosters for the 2015-16 NBA season.

The first-ever Basketball without Borders camp took place in Europe in July 2001. Vlade Divac (Serbia) and Toni Kukoc (Croatia), together with former teammates from the Yugoslav national team, reunited to work with 50 children from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia and Montenegro at La Ghirada in Treviso, Italy. Since then, the NBA and FIBA have staged 45 BWB camps in 26 cities across 22 countries on five continents. More than 210 current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players have joined nearly 160 NBA team personnel from all 30 NBA teams to support BWB across the world.

The following is a complete list of players participating in the first BWB Asia Camp in Australia:

BWB is made possible through the cooperation of National Basketball Association (NBA), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL).

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