The National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA have today announced that New Zealand’s Julius Halaifonua has been invited to the eighth annual Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Global camp for men – held from 16-18 Feb as part of NBA All-Star 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
This will be the second appearance at BWB for Halaifonua, a product of Harbour Basketball who is currently based at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra. The 7’0” centre has been part of the New Zealand junior national team setup since 2022; appearing at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship and FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in 2022, as well as last year’s FIBA U17 Oceania Championship in Papua New Guinea.
Later this month, Halaifonua will make his Tall Blacks debut in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, which sees New Zealand taking on Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong in a home-and-away scenario.
Halaifonua says it’s an honour to be selected as the sole Kiwi representative at this camp.
“It feels great, the last BWB camp I went to was very competitive and I took a lot away from it – so to be able to be selected to this camp in Indiana is a big achievement for me.”
The BWB Global camp brings together 40 of the top high-school-age prospects from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania to participate in athletic testing, movement efficiency, skill development stations, shooting and skills competitions, life skills seminars and 5-on-5 games under the guidance of current and former NBA and WNBA players, legends and coaches, including Joakim Noah and Detlef Schrempf.
A ceremony on the final day of the camp will award the Kim Bohuny Camp MVP, the Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award, the Three-Point Champion, the Defensive MVP and the Playoff MVP to the campers who distinguish themselves on the court and as leaders. The campers will attend the 73rd NBA All-Star Game later that day.
BWB, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program, has reached more than 4,300 participants from 140 countries and territories since 2001, with 113 former campers advancing to the NBA or WNBA. The NBA and FIBA have staged 72 BWB camps in 48 cities across 33 countries on six continents.
Catch Halaifonua in action on 25 February, when the Tall Blacks face Hong Kong at Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland. Tickets at https://bbnz.cloud/tickets
