NBA Legend Bruce Bowen tips off Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Punjab City Championships

Ludhiana, November 5, 2014: NBA legend Bruce Bowen tipped off Punjab’s first ever Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA City Championships today, which will see participation from over 150 school teams across the state. The championship is being held from November 5 – 7 at the Guru Nanak Stadium.

Bruce Bowen, a 6-7 small forward from Merced, California, is a three-time NBA Champion with the San Antonio Spurs (2003, 2005 & 2007) and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team on five occasions (2004-2008). He arrived in India on October 30, 2014 on a week-long promotional tour to support the continued growth of basketball and to connect with fans in the country. Bowen is the first NBA legend to visit to Punjab to promote the sport.

The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program in Punjab saw over 150 schools participate since it launched in September. The program trained over 150 PE instructors/coaches from the 150+ partner schools.  Each school received ongoing training from Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA international coaches along with turnkey curriculum to teach the game to the youth. All local coaches received a ‘Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Basketball in a Bag,’ which contained resources for them to grow the game in their communities. Over 1,700 basketballs were distributed across Punjab to grow participation in basketball.

The City Championship will mark the culmination of three competitions that have been taking place across Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar. The 5x5 team competition, which had 87 teams participating, will now enter the quarter-final stage in boys and girls category; a 3x3 team competition featuring over 145teams; and a Hot Shot individual shooting competition, which will see one boy and girl crowned as the best shooters in the city.

 “The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program promotes health, fitness and an active lifestyle through basketball, and teaches the values of the game such as teamwork, sacrifice, discipline, dedication and sportsmanship.  It was fantastic to see the passion that players and coaches across Punjab have for the game.” said Bruce Bowen.

The first year of the program was conducted in three cities: Mumbai, Kochi and Kottayam, engaging more than 140,000 youth, 40 percent of whom were female, from 225 schools. The program trained more than 250 coaches and distributed over 4,500 basketballs to partner schools.NBA legend Muggsy Bogues and WNBA player Swin Cash were in Mumbai and Kochi to conduct coaches and player clinics and support the program.

Reliance Foundation and NBA India entered into a multiyear partnership in October 2013 to launch a comprehensive school-based youth basketball program in India with Mumbai being the first city to tip off the program.

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