The top eight players selected from the inaugural Digicel Jumpstart Elite Camp are now preparing for a top class basketball experience in New York City where they will train at NBA facilities, compete against local youth basketball teams in the tri-state area and attend an official NBA game.

Digicel recently inked a broadcasting rights deal with the NBA and is now the League’s official regional partner in the Caribbean which sees basketball fans getting the latest news, updates and games through its 24-hour regional sports channel, Digicel SportsMax that is available in more than 30 Caribbean countries.

The boys were handpicked by NBA coaches during the Jumpstart Clinic programmes which took place across eight countries and culminated in the Elite Camp in Trinidad and Tobago in September.

NBA Senior Vice President for Latin America, Philippe Moggio, said; “Having made it through the intense training at the Jumpstart Clinics and the Elite Camp, we are excited to welcome them to New York City for the final phase of the programme. We are delighted that the Jumpstart programme has given these boys such an amazing opportunity to get first-hand training from highly qualified coaches as well as showcase what they have learned through exhibition games”.

Digicel Group Marketing Operations Director, Kieran Foley, said; “These boys are going to take basketball fans from the Caribbean on a journey which will see them developing their talents though their Jumpstart NBA experience. As a continuation of the programme, the top eight youth basketball players selected from the Elite Camp will now travel to the United States where they will enjoy the sights and sounds of New York City, get first hand training with NBA-certified coaches and attend an NBA game between the Brooklyn Nets and the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors. The boys will take basketball fans back home with them on their journey as they share memorable moments on social media as well as on Digicel SportsMax – the Caribbean’s regional broadcaster of all things NBA.”

The Digicel/NBA Jumpstart Basketball programme was launched with the hosting of the clinics in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands. The players who emerged as the top performing athletes out of those clinics attended the Digicel/NBA Jumpstart Elite Camp which was held in Trinidad and Tobago where they trained with former NBA players, Adonal Foyle and Muggsy Bogues and former NBA coach P.J. Carlesimo.