{"id":672370,"date":"2019-08-05T12:44:11","date_gmt":"2019-08-05T12:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"<br><div>\n\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"39\">For one intense week, 40 boys and 20 girls from 29 African countries were chosen for a highly selective program to train with current and former players from the National Basketball Associati"},"modified":"2019-08-05T12:44:11","modified_gmt":"2019-08-05T12:44:11","slug":"africa-teens-inspired-motivated-by-basketball-without-borders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/05\/africa-teens-inspired-motivated-by-basketball-without-borders\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa: Teens Inspired, Motivated by Basketball Without Borders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"39\">For one intense week, 40 boys and 20 girls from 29 African countries were chosen for a highly selective program to train with current and former players from the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women\u2019s National Basketball Association (WNBA).<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"45\">The NBA\u2019s Basketball Without Borders program has been scouting and training girls and boys across the continent for 17 years. Teenage girls who took part say working with women from the continent who played for WNBA teams has motivated them to stay in the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"43\">\u201cThis experience has been so enriching for us,\u201d Iris, a 16-year-old from Gabon, told VOA. \u201cIt\u2019s helped me a lot, I\u2019ve learned new things and it\u2019s renewed my enthusiasm, my desire to keep going and to become someone in the world of basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"40\">Iris says she was scouted for the program by organizers who watched her local team play in Gabon. Iris was then asked to produce a video of her playing and was later informed that she\u2019d been accepted to the program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"47\">The coaches and mentors are helping these young players through drills and matches, but also serve as role models of what the youngsters can become. One such role model is Astou Ndiaye, originally from Senegal. She played for the Detroit Shock, which won the 2003 WNBA championship.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/.outer-ad-container.responsive-aans-view-a-container--><\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"51\">\u201cWe have walked the path that they want to walk,\u201d Ndiaye told VOA. \u201cSo just being here being able to talk to them, answer their questions and really give them hopefully, the confidence they need to know that if we can do it, they can because there\u2019s a path for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"37\">Ndiaye has been coaching young women in the Basketball Without Borders program for years, but is particularly encouraged this year because it is only the second time that Senegal has hosted the program in its 17-year history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"22\">Ndiaye\u2019s presence and enthusiasm for the program have been particularly inspirational for many young women who hope to follow in her footsteps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"45\">\u201cIt\u2019s because of them \u2014 they\u2019ve inspired us to play basketball, really,\u201d Vanessa, a 16-old player from Cameroon, told VOA. \u201cAnd it\u2019s because of them that we really apply ourselves here and say that maybe one day we can replace them, or play with them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--\/.outer-ad-container.responsive-aans-view-b-container--><\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"34\">Although only half as many girls as boys are accepted to the program, organizers say that promoting young female players on the continent is just as important to them as working with the boys.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"54\">\u201cOur primary mission and goal at NBA Africa, when we launched, was to really increase participation in our sport. So you cannot do that by ignoring more than half the population,\u201d Amadou Gallo Fall, NBA Africa\u2019s managing director, told VOA. \u201cSo I think over the years, we\u2019ve seen tremendous progress in the women\u2019s game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"18\">Ndiaye agrees that in recent years, the women she coaches will have better opportunities than her generation did.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"12\">\u201cIt\u2019s getting better. If we remember, we were pioneers then,\u201d Ndiaye said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text\" data-para-word-count=\"24\">\u201cAnd the salaries, all the benefits and advantages that the kids are getting now \u2014 it\u2019s unbelievable \u2014 so it can only get better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For one intense week, 40 boys and 20 girls from 29 African countries were chosen for a highly selective program to train with current and former players from the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women\u2019s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The NBA\u2019s Basketball Without Borders program has been scouting and training girls and boys across the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":672168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-672370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-asia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Africa: Teens Inspired, Motivated by Basketball Without Borders - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/08\/05\/africa-teens-inspired-motivated-by-basketball-without-borders\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Africa: Teens Inspired, Motivated by Basketball Without Borders - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"For one intense week, 40 boys and 20 girls from 29 African countries were chosen for a highly selective program to train with current and former players from the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women\u2019s National Basketball Association (WNBA). 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