Beijing, China July 14-17 EVENT PARTNERS

Zoran Radovic, FIBA Development Manager
It’s good to be here especially since this is the first time we have held this kind of program in Asia. We already have Basketball without Borders camps in Africa, Europe and America. We are reaching the global basketball corners and we are really happy to be here in Beijing for the first time.

Hu Jiashi, Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Vice President
I represent the CBA in welcoming the officials, coaches and players from the NBA. Basketball is very popular in China and is growing quickly. We attribute this growth to the connection with the NBA and FIBA. Several Chinese players have earned spots in the NBA and WNBA and this is boosting cooperation between Chinese basketball and the NBA. I’d like to wish Basketball without Borders Asia a complete success in Beijing.

Andrew Messick, Senior Vice President, NBA International
Basketball without Borders was created four years ago in 2001. The first camp was a very small one that took place in Italy with a group of NBA players and a small group of athletes. From those very modest beginnings Basketball without Borders has grown to become one of the most important programs that the NBA and FIBA collaborate on each year. This year Basketball without Borders will take place in Africa, Europe, Latin America and here. The growth of the program reflects the spirit of cooperation between all of our partners, FIBA, the CBA, our players, the NBA teams, and all of our sponsors. We have been able to work together to help young people around the world to learn about life, improve their basketball, and create a program that allows for the most positive messages about sports to come through. I would like to recognize all of our partners: FIBA, CBA, and our friends in Asia. McDonalds, Nokia, Reebok, Spalding, and Molten have all made enormous contributions to allow this to happen and they deserve our thanks.

Mark Fisher, Managing Director of NBA China
I am very happy all of you could come here today to help us celebrate this wonderful event. I’m very proud to have the first ever [Basketball without Borders] Asia program here in Beijing. The NBA and basketball itself are very popular here in China and in other parts of Asia and we feel that with that popularity comes a responsibility. This is a wonderful way to fulfill that responsibility. The [other] ways we’re doing that is to establish a reading and learning center and hold a Special Olympics clinic and an HIV-AIDS [conference] at Tsinghua University. I would like to thank the players and coaches for donating their time and thank FIBA and the CBA for making this possible.

Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
[Basketball without Borders] is a good way to introduce the NBA [to Asia]. We can give the campers advice and coach and help them. They can have a first taste of what NBA basketball is all about. The NBA is pretty big in Europe, so maybe we can have the same effect here. In 10 years you’re going to have a lot of teams that are going to try to do like the Spurs, try to have five or six international players on their teams. I think that’s why we won this year.

Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
The NBA told me that they were going to come to China for this program and asked me what I thought. I said, ‘Of course it’s good. It’s my home.’ It’s good to let more young Chinese players participate in this program. Chinese players are getting better. Their physiques are getter taller and stronger. But we still need to improve our software. We need better coaching. This camp isn’t only good for the players. It’s also a great opportunity for our coaches and trainers.