The final day of the ninth Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Americas Camp closed with a flourish as the top 66 boys and girls high school basketball players from 16 countries and territories around the Americas competed in playoff games and a pair of All-Star games in front of cheering local Bahamian fans on Saturday.
Action got underway in the morning as the four boys teams played in semi-finals, consolation and championship games. The two girls teams played a single championship game.
At the conclusion of the games, the boys and girls All-Star teams were announced, and in the afternoon the camp was opened to the general public for the two camper All-Star games.
Two boys All-Star teams were selected. Team Blue, coached by Ham, James Borrego, Tiago Splitter and Acie Law, was Zion Jones (U.S. Virgin Islands), Santiago Vescovi (Uruguay), Moises Emilio Andriassi (Mexico), Joel Brown (Canada), Leandro Bolmaro (Argentina), Anthony Lawson (Canada), Samuel Hunter (The Bahamas), Bernardo DaSilva (Brazil), and Kofi Cockburn (Jamaica). Team White, coached by Cleveland Assistant Coach Jim Boylan, Phoenix Assistant Coach Bret Burchard, Anderson Varejao and Sasha Vuja?i?, consisted of Carlos Paez (Venezuela), Francisco Farabello (Argentina), Leonardo Colimerio (Brazil), Addison Patterson (Canada), Wheza Panzo (Canada), Joao Marcello Pereira (Brazil), Kai Jones (The Bahamas), Mawell Lorca-Lloyd (Chile), and Tyrese Samuel (Canada).
Two girls All-Star teams were named. Team Blue, coached by Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) legend Ebony Hoffman and Lorena Nunez, was Piper Doo (Canada), Rebeca Morones (Mexico), Emily Martindale (Canada), Ellanis Armenteros Gelabert (Cuba), and Thiare Antonella Garcia Gutierrez (Dominican Republic). Team White, coached by FIBA (International Basketball Federation) coach Ronald Cass, was Sofia Alejandra Payan Martinez (Mexico), Florencia Chagas (Argentina), Patricia Lauren Boers (Canada), Odeth Betancourt (Venezuela), Briontae Riley (The Bahamas), and Lorena Anunciacao (Brazil).
In between the All-Star games, a fun three-point shooting contest was held between Anthony Lawson (Canada), who was the boys three-point winner on Friday, Sofia Alejandra Payan Martinez (Mexico), who won the girls three-point title, and National Basketball Association (NBA) player Sasha Vuja?i?.
An awards ceremony was held at the end of the day to salute all the campers, and the NBA/WNBA/FIBA coaches and players who worked with each of the campers to improve their skills and help them become even better players in the future.
During the ceremony, the boys and girls camp Most Valuable Players (MVPs) and All-Star Game MVPs were announced. The boys BWB Americas 2017 overall camp MVP was Francisco Farabello (Argentina), while the girls overall camp MVP was Esmery Dahiana Martinez (Dominican Republic).
The All-Star Game MVPs were Wheza Panzo (Canada) for the boys and Florencia Chagas (Argentina) for the girls. The BWB Americas 2017 Camp was the first such camp in The Bahamas, and it was deemed a success across the board. Clinics for referees and local coaches were also conducted.
"You have to 'train the trainers', because they are the ones to help develop the game here. The girl's program has expanded. We have never had these many countries and there is a lot of young talent here. On the boy's side, this is clearly the best level of talent we've had from Latin America. A lot of the young men here are going to have long futures in basketball," said NBA Senior Vice President of International Basketball Operations Kimberly Bohuny.
NBA and FIBA players and coaches, including Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks; Canada), Sasha Vuja?i? (New York Knicks; Slovenia), and Tiago Splitter (NBA, Brazil) coached the high school age campers. Powell, Vuja?i? and Splitter were joined by 13-year NBA veteran Anderson Varejao (Brazil), former NBA player Acie Law (U.S.) and WNBA legend Ebony Hoffman.
Current NBA assistant coaches James Borrego (San Antonio Spurs), Jim Boylan (Cleveland Cavaliers), Darvin Ham (Atlanta Hawks), and David Vanterpool (Portland Trail Blazers) served as BWB Americas coaches. Patrick Hunt (president of the World Association of Basketball Coaches; Australia) and Ronald Cass (FIBA coach) were camp directors for the boys and girls, respectively. Armando Rivas (Chicago Bulls) was the camp's athletic trainer.
Nike, a BWB global partner since 2002, outfitted the campers and coaches with Nike apparel and footwear.

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