The inauguration of the NBA-BFI school basketball program.© BFI
The National Basketball Association (NBA), ACG, a global leader in pharmaceutical solutions, and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the governing body of basketball in the country, on Thursday announced the launch of the ACG Jr. NBA program, a nationwide 3v3 tournament for the top U-14 players across India and the largest school-based basketball program in the country. The ACG Jr. NBA program will feature boys' and girls' divisions with teams representing schools from across the country and tip off on Tuesday, Sept. 24 with tournaments in Chennai and Mumbai before visiting Aizawl, Delhi, Kolkata and Ludhiana.
The top eight boys' and girls' teams from each city will then compete in a league phase within each city that will see the top three boys' and girls' teams and one all-star team from each of the boys' and girls' divisions advance to the league finals early next year. The dates of the remaining city tournaments and league phases, and the dates and location of the league finals, will be announced at a later date.
"Over the past decade, we've engaged millions of children through the Jr. NBA program, and we look forward to expanding our development efforts in India alongside our partners and providing more opportunities for boys and girls to play the game and maximize their potential," said NBA Asia Strategy Head and NBA India Country Head Rajah Chaudhry.
In addition to the ACG Jr. NBA program, the collaboration aims to enhance youth basketball development at the local level, expand elite talent identification nationally, and provide new development opportunities for players, coaches and referees at all levels. The collaboration builds on the prior association between the NBA and ACG that included the launch of ACG-NBA Jump, a nationwide basketball talent search program, and marks the first time BFI will serve as an ACG Jr. NBA partner.
"This initiative goes beyond the game – it's about building character, instilling values, and offering young athletes a platform to grow and shine," said ACG Managing Director Karan Singh.
The announcement was made on Thursday at a press conference in Mumbai by BFI President Aadhav Arjuna, NBA Asia Strategy Head and NBA India Country Head Rajah Chaudhry, ACG Chief Marketing Officer Alex Robertson and CEO of Skechers South Asia Pvt. Ltd. Rahul Vira.
The Jr. NBA program has reached more than 14 million youth and 15,000 physical education instructors across 35 cities in India since 2013. The ACG Jr. NBA program is part of the NBA's broader basketball development initiatives in India that include NBA Basketball School, a network of tuition-based basketball development programs open to male and female players ages 6-18, and Basketball Without Borders Asia, the NBA and FIBA's global basketball development and community outreach program that has been held in India twice.
(With inputs from NBA India Press Release)