2 students head to B-ball camp…in Rio

Two Belizean high school students will leave Sunday on the summer trip of a lifetime. Bernard Felix of Wesley College and Joslyn Valerio of Orange Walk Tech have been chosen to attend “Basketball without Boundaries”, a one week instructional camp for outstanding young basketball players that will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The programme is sponsored by the N.B.A. and F.I.B.A., the International Basketball Federation. Three camps are held annually, one each in Europe, Africa, and the Latin America/Caribbean region. Handling the teaching at the Brazilian session will be non-U.S. N.B.A. players Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets centre Nene, New York Knicks star Dikembe Mutombo and forward Eduardo Najera of Dallas. In recent years, foreign players have become an increasingly crucial factor in the N.B.A. Not only have they added to the quality of play on the court but more importantly have brought with them a huge international television audience that has already translated into increased revenues for the league, the teams and the players. Over twenty countries will be represented at the Rio Camp. Locally, the attendance of Felix and Valerio was facilitated by the Belize Basketball Federation, National Sports Council, and National Secondary Schools Sports Association.