City player Pranav picked for Junior NBA tourney
Pranav Varma from Sreenidhi Sports Academy has been selected for the Junior NBA Indian Team that will take part in the Jr. NBA Global Championship — a youth basketball tournament for the top 13 and 14-year-old boys and girls teams from around the world — to be held from August 6 to 11 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida (USA).
Pranav, a ninth class student at Sreenidhi International School, is the first player from Telangana State to be selected for the prestigious event.
Last week, the NBA announced the 10 boys and 10 girls who will represent India in the Championship. The 20 youth players were chosen following a two-day selection camp at the NBA Academy India in Delhi NCR. The camp featured 40 players from the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Skills Challenges, City Competitions and National Finals. Pranav was the best among 10 chosen to represent Hyderabad at the Junior NBA National Championships that took place in Noida last month. The Hyderabad team had lost narrowly to Bangalore 43-47 in the pre-quarterfinals.
Having scored 128 points, he was also the MVP for the inaugural Greater Hyderabad Interschool basketball league that concluded earlier this year.
The Jr. NBA Global Championship will feature boys and girls divisions, separated into U.S. and international brackets that begin with roundrobin play and continue with single-elimination competition. The winners of the U.S. and international brackets will play in the global championship games on August 11. During the week-long event, all 32 teams will participate in activities designed to reinforce the Jr. NBA’s core values and provide the players with development opportunities and memorable experiences off the court, including life skills sessions, Disney park visits and a community service project.
In the inaugural event last year, Sunishka Kartik from the India girls team won the Community Award while Bhavik Garg won the TipOff Ceremony Dance Contest. Sachin Yadav and Moumita Mishra will both return for their second appearance in the annual youth basketball tournament.