Corey Brewer, Al Horford and Charlie Villanueva bring Basketball without Borders to Dominican Republic for first time
SANTO DOMINGO – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced today that Corey Brewer (Houston Rockets; U.S.), Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks; Dominican Republic), and Charlie Villanueva (Dallas Mavericks; U.S.; parents from Dominican Republic) will join Luc Mbah a Moute (most recently with the Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon), as well as former NBA players Francisco Garcia (Dominican Republic national team), Tito Horford (Dominican Republic), and Felipe Lopez (former Dominican Republic national team player) to lead 51 campers from 18 North and South American countries at the first Basketball without Borders (BWB) Americas camp in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Aug. 16-19.
Melvin Hunt (Dallas Mavericks), Brett Gunning (Houston Rockets), Darvin Ham (Atlanta Hawks), Nick U’ren (Golden State Warriors), and Patrick Hunt (President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches) will serve as BWB Americas 2015 camp coaches. Gersson Rosas (Houston Rockets) will be the camp director. Kevin Johnson (Philadelphia 76ers) and Ale Oliveira (Brooklyn Nets) will serve as the camp’s athletic trainers, and Matt Friia (Charlotte Hornets) will serve as strength and conditioning coach.
As part of BWB Americas 2015, the top players from around the world born in 1998 will have the opportunity to learn directly from NBA and FIBA players, legends, and coaches and to compete against the best players from North and South America.
BWB, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program, has reached more than 2,400 campers from more than 125 countries and territories since 2001, with 37 campers drafted into the NBA. Twenty-two former BWB campers were on NBA rosters during the 2014-15 regular season, including 2015 NBA All-Star Marc Gasol.
This year BWB included the 13th BWB Africa camp in Johannesburg, South Africa July 29-Aug. 1 and a first-time camp in Gran Canaria, Spain June 2-5 as part of BWB Europe 2015.
In addition to working with the campers on the court, NBA and FIBA players and coaches will lead community outreach programs through NBA Cares, the league’s global social responsibility program. NBA Cares will refurbish two basketball courts in Santo Domingo at Club El Almirante, which is home to more than 200 youth. Along with Al Horford and his family, NBA and FIBA coaches will join volunteers at Centro Olimpico and Club El Almirante to host Jr. NBA clinics for local children, teaching the values of the game such as teamwork, leadership, respect and healthy living.
“The sport of basketball has afforded me many opportunities throughout my life,” said Al Horford. “It’s a privilege to return home to share the values of the game with the campers and work in the Dominican Republic.”
Additionally, “La Fundacion De Charlie Villanueva Basketball Camp” will host a basketball clinic in Villanueva’s family’s hometown of Cabrera, Dominican Republic.
The campers will be outfitted with the latest footwear and apparel from NIKE, a BWB global partner since 2002.
The second annual BWB Global Camp will be held during NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto and will bring together the top players from this summer’s BWB camps. The first BWB Global Camp was held during NBA All-Star 2015 in New York City.
The following is a complete list of players participating in BWB Americas 2015 in Santo Domingo:
Country | First Name | Last Name |
Argentina | Lautaro | Berra Fernandez |
Argentina | Luca | Valussi |
Argentina | Facundo | Corvalan |
Argentina | Santiago | Bruera |
Argentina | Maximiliano | Andreatta |
Argentina | Santiago | Vaulet |
Bahamas | Adrian | Thompson |
Barbados | Amal | Smith |
Brazil | Felipe | Ruivo |
Brazil | Gabriel | Galvanini |
Brazil | Felipe | Dos Anjos De Paula Gama |
Brazil | Michael Somutochukwu | Uchendu |
Brazil | Joao Vitor | Dos Santos |
Brazil | Lucas Caue | Pereira |
Canada | Howard | Washington Jr. |
Canada | Lindell | Wigginton |
Canada | Josip | Vrankic |
Canada | Matur | Maker |
Canada | Marcus | Carr |
Chile | Felipe | Haase Thiers |
Chile | Nicolas | Aguirre |
Colombia | Soren Steven | De Luque Bornacelly |
Colombia | Moises | Parra |
Colombia | Jose | Ayola |
Costa Rica | Daniel | Rodriguez Alfaro |
Cuba | Abel | Font Lara |
Cuba | Yohanqui | Mensia Hernandez |
Dominican Republic | Ismael | Waldron |
Dominican Republic | Jose | Perez |
Dominican Republic | Victor | Pena |
Dominican Republic | Alonzo | Fink |
Dominican Republic | Benny | Moreno Valverde |
Haiti / Canada | Richardson | Maitre |
Jamaica | D’Andre | Forbes |
Mexico | Alejandro | Tostado |
Mexico | Brayan | Au |
Mexico | Elias | Richo Lankenau |
Paraguay | Jorge | Martinez |
Paraguay | Juan | Poisson Storm |
Puerto Rico | Jesus | Cruz |
Puerto Rico | Jorge | Pacheco Ortiz |
Puerto Rico | Leandro | Allende |
Puerto Rico | Luis | Lopez |
Uruguay | Agustin | Da Costa |
Uruguay | Juan Ignacio | Ducasse |
Uruguay | Martin | Rojas |
Venezuela | Luis Armando | Hurtado |
Venezuela | Jose | Serrano |
Venezuela | Heldrin | Guillent |
USVI | Miguel | Lopez Jr. |
USVI | Jomoiri | Dagou |