Five-time champ Harper adds stardust to Junior NBA clinic

SINGAPORE — Participants at this weekend’s inaugural Junior NBA Singapore National Training Camp at the OCBC Arena are in for a special treat, after five-time NBA champion Ron Harper was today confirmed as one of the coaches for the three-day event.

During the camp — a culmination of the Junior NBA Singapore programme — 200 boys and girls aged 10 to 14 will train and compete against one another in a bid to impress the coaches and be named in the Junior NBA Singapore All-Stars team.

Only 10 boys and five girls will be selected to join the team, which will then go on to participate in an overseas training camp with their counterparts from Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

The Junior NBA Singapore, which began earlier this year, complements the offerings provided by the recently launched ActiveSG Basketball Academy, which aims to increase participation in the sport while also improving the quality of coaching and programmes at grassroots level.

“I’m so excited to work with the Junior NBA Singapore participants,” said Harper, who shared the court with the likes of Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen as part of the famed Chicago Bulls team that won three consecutive NBA titles from 1996 to 1998.

“These young athletes have worked very hard to get to this point, and I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experiences with them so they can take their game to the next level.”

ActiveSG chief Lai Chin Kwang added: “The opportunity to have access to personalities like former NBA champion Ron Harper, who will certainly encourage and inspire the community to be more active through the sport of basketball, is one of the reasons we partnered with the NBA.

“We are excited to continue exploring new ways of coaching that will enable the ActiveSG Basketball Academy to bring new value to the basketball community in Singapore.”

Apart from coaching the Junior NBA Singapore participants however, Harper is also scheduled to make appearances at several other clinics and community events where fans will get the opportunity to meet him up close. NOAH TAN