Italy, July 29 – With the teams decided, the second day of the Basketball without Borders camp began with all the young players being introduced to the NBA players who would be coaching them.

The campers were happy to see the NBA players on-court next to them as this for most had only ever been a dream. But of course the players were not just standing next to them, they were coaching them, as the Skills and Drills competition got underway.

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Each of the campers from the six teams (Jazz, Bobcats, Mavericks, Bucks, Grizzlies, Hawks) were put through their paces as they tried to outrun the competing teams. The NBA players seemed to enjoy their role as coaches as much as the campers and made sure they gave all the advice necessary to help improve the young players skills.

“It’s a good thing to be here and to help young people, because they need us and they need our advice which is one thing I can do for the young players,” said Gordan Giricek of the Utah Jazz. “I know when I was younger that I missed these kinds of things. I think it would have helped me a lot if I’d have been here and had someone that I admire say something to me.”

And it wasn’t just the young players that were learning, “You can learn things from different cultures, we can all contribute something and at the same time we all take something out of it,” said Andrei Kirilenko of the Utah Jazz.

After team practice the campers participated in a seminar, led by UNICEF to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS education and prevention. Primoz Brezec of the Charlotte Bobcats also attended and helped communicate the message to the young players. “It is very important for all of you to know how to protect yourselves to prevent HIV and Aids,” Brezec said, before sitting down to listen with the campers.

The day ended with games that gave a taster of how the young players will perform with their new teams. The Dallas Mavericks coached by Dirk Nowitzki held off Andrei Kirilenko’s Utah Jazz to win 61-57. Whilst Zaza Pachulia coached his Milwaukee Bucks to a 53-47 victory over Brezec’s Charlotte Bobcats. However the biggest win was had by the Atlanta Hawks coached by Greg Ballard (Hawks assistant coach) who defeated Gordan Giricek’s Grizzlies 71-57.

After the second day of camp everyone deserved a well-earned rest but not for too long as tomorrow will see another day of tough competition for all the players.