The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Royal FrieslandCampina (FrieslandCampina) announced today that for the second consecutive year, Jr. NBA All-Stars from Southeast Asia will travel to China to watch an NBA game. The top performers from the Jr. NBA programs in the region will attend NBA Global Games China 2015 presented by Master Kong in Shenzhen on Oct. 11, featuring the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Shenzhen Universiade Center.
The Jr. NBA, presented by FrieslandCampina in Southeast Asia through its Frisian Flag, Dutch Lady, Foremost and Alaska brands, is the league’s global youth basketball participation program for boys and girls. The program has reached more than 1.4 million kids, parents and coaches across Southeast Asia since 2007. This year’s Jr. NBA All-Stars, selected from Jr. NBA programs in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, are comprised of 50 boys and 21 girls ages 10-14. The Jr. NBA All-Stars will also play exhibition games and visit local landmarks as part of their visit to Shenzhen.
“We are thrilled to see that Jr. NBA has grown significantly since the program expanded across Southeast Asia last year,” said FrieslandCampina Asia Chief Operating Officer Piet Hilarides. “The program is a pivotal outreach component in FrieslandCampina’s award-winning advocacy campaign, Drink.Move.BeStrong, which impacted 68 million people in the region in 2014. It is encouraging to see that children in Southeast Asia are taking up the call to lead a healthier and active lifestyle through proper nutrition and sports.”
“We are incredibly excited for our Jr. NBA All-Stars, who will soon embark on an unforgettable journey with their peers from around the region,” said NBA Asia Vice President, Global Marketing Partnerships & Events Francesco Suarez. “Together with Royal FrieslandCampina, we will continue to develop a lifelong passion for basketball among youth in Asia, while emphasizing sportsmanship, respect, teamwork, and healthy living.”
Drink.Move.BeStrong was borne of specific findings from FrieslandCampina’s Southeast Asian Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS), which highlighted a widespread prevalence of malnutrition, particularly deficiencies in vitamin D, calcium and other micronutrients in the 16,744 surveyed children under the age of 12. Through a simple call to action to children and parents to drink one glass of milk and spend one hour of physical activity outdoors each day, Drink.Move.BeStrong aims to cultivate habits that can help build strong families.
Jr. NBA has been staged in the Philippines for eight consecutive years as part of the ongoing partnership between the NBA and FrieslandCampina through its Alaska brand. Jr. NBA was introduced to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam in 2014.
The NBA will tip off NBA Global Games 2015-16 Oct. 6 with five international preseason games, followed by two regular-season games in December and January. Overall, six NBA teams will play seven games in seven cities in six countries as the league continues to bring the authentic NBA experience to fans around the world.
Fans can visit the official website at www.jrnba.asia for more information on the Jr. NBA programs in Southeast Asia.
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