The new season of the Junior NBA Rwanda League is due to tip off at IPRC-Kigali this Saturday, Times Sport has learned. The Jr. NBA, a global youth basketball program for boys and girls, teaches the fundamental skills and core values of the game at the grassroots level in an effort to help grow and improve the basketball experience for young players and youth coaches. According to Rwanda Basketball Federation, the revamped Jr. NBA league is an expansion of a multiyear partnership supported by OCP Group, a world leader in the phosphate industry, and the NBA both in Rwanda and Morocco. It is aimed at pushing the boundaries of accessibility to basketball, inspire more boys and girls to play the game of basketball and grow with its core values while also empowering coaches and program administrators as role models for the youth in their communities. At Kicukiro-based IPRC Kigali, and as was the case during the programme’s inaugural edition last year, the league will feature 30 male teams and 30 in girls’ category representing schools from across the country. Each school team will represent one of the 30 NBA teams, and will receive corresponding NBA team-branded jerseys for their games as part of the NBA and OCP partnership throughout the championships. Besides playing basketball, the youngsters will also have interactive life-skill seminars, mainly focused on youth empowerment. Among other items, the boys and girls will be trained on leadership, communication skills and how to lead healthy lives. This publication understands that the life-skill curriculum will be delivered by longstanding NBA partner, Hoops 4 Hope. Green Hills Academy, in boys’ category, and Gatsibo-based ADEGI Gituza (girls) won titles of the league’s inaugural season last year. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
