- Title: CHINA: BASKETBALL - NBA stars pass on their skills at Shanghai basketball camp
- Date: 26th May 2007
- Summary: SOUNDBITE (English) 18-YEAR-OLD BASKETBALL PLAYER FROM SINGAPORE, MITCHELL FOLKOFF, SAYING: "Offensively, it's about the same. But the way they teach defence is a lot more easy to understand, and ball-handling skills and all that. The way they teach is more enthusiastic, makes it more fun than just, you know, they tell you what to do, and then you do it."
- Embargoed: 10th June 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA7N2OYS7JYQXGH4WBBSXMEFVZ
- Story Text: NBA stars Adam Morrison and Martell Webster join more than 60 young Asian basketball players for a weeklong training camp in Shanghai.
Talented young basketball players from across Asia rubbed shoulders with stars from the NBA during a week long training camp organised by sportswear giant Adidas in the Chinese financial capital of Shanghai.
More than 60 players aged 15 to 18-years-old, came from various basketball backgrounds in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan to learn from NBA stars Adam Morrision of the Charlotte Bobcats and Martell Webster of the Portland Trail Blazers.
During the camp the youngsters were taught training drills, offensive and defensive tactics and fitness regimes by coaches and trainers from the NBA as well as from the local basketball leagues.
They also got a chance to play training matches with the two NBA stars as well as participate in a league amongst themselves.
For the two NBA players, they were just happy to teach their skills and push the trainees to their limits.
"I definitely see a lot of potential out here. I mean these kids are going hard everyday, in the morning they've got drills and it seems that they're really fluid in their drills. They're comfortable and they're having fun," said Webster.
Basketball is popular in Asia with the emergence of Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming. The Houston Rockets player is an inspiration to many of these budding youngsters who see Yao as their role model.
Morrison said Yao's example helped the youngsters.
"It just shows that anybody from anywhere can make it to the NBA," he added.
These young players were eager to learn as much as they could during the camp.
"I feel I can learn a good range of things here. Also, by interacting with the foreign coaches and the NBA players, I feel I can gain more in terms of knowledge and also further my personal development," said 18-year-old Meng Duo (pron: mang-duo) from China.
Mitchell Folkoff from Singapore, aged 18, praised the way the NBA stars approached the training.
"The way they teach defence is a lot more easy to understand, and ball-handling skills and all that. The way they teach is more enthusiastic, makes it more fun, he said.
The camp opened on Tuesday (May 22) and ends on Saturday (May 26).
During the camp, ten youngsters will be selected to represent Asia at the "Adidas Basketball Experience" in New Orleans in August this year. The event is an intercontinental tournament featuring matches between teams of young players from around the world. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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