The inaugural ExxonMobil Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA League Mozambique Finals concluded on Saturday, September 28, on the Clube Desportivo da Politécnica in Maputo, Mozambique, with five-time NBA (www.NBA.com) champion Ron Harper in attendance. The Golden State Warriors (Escola Secundária Francisco Manyanga) and the New York Knicks (Escola Secundária Josina Machel) had been topped the inaugural champions within the ladies’ and boys’ divisions, respectively.
The league, operated by the Clarisse Machanguana Basis (CMF), a corporation based by former WNBA participant and Mozambican basketball legend Clarisse Machanguana that empowers Mozambican youth by way of sport, schooling and well being, launched final April and reached greater than 8,000 youth all through its first season. It additionally included all-girls basketball clinics as a part of the NBA’s Her Time to Play program, which supplies alternatives for women and girls to play basketball and pursue careers in teaching and athletic management, in addition to instructional STEM (Science, Expertise, Engineering and Math) classes for girls and boys.
The STEM program, which can over the subsequent six months contain a sequence of theoretical and sensible Science, Expertise, Engineering and Arithmetic classes, tipped off final month on the Josina Machel and Trisciard Secondary Colleges. Among the many instructional and enjoyable experiments, the youth are studying concerning the science inside sports activities, together with measurement of heartbeats and angles and dimensions that govern the basketball courtroom and its guidelines.
The ExxonMobil Jr. NBA League has taken place underneath the steerage of high coaches in Mozambique, together with Leonel Manhique, who was one among 25 coaches from 15 African nations who participated within the NBA 2K25 Summer time League in Las Vegas, Nevada, earlier this 12 months.
Government Quotes
Lead Nation Supervisor of ExxonMobil Mozambique Limitada Frank Kretschmer: “It was a rewarding expertise to host this program in Mozambique that benefited eight thousand college students, and selling STEM which is such an integral a part of our neighborhood growth technique.”
NBA Africa Director of Basketball Operations Kita Matungulu: “The collaboration between ExxonMobil and NBA Africa has been essential in our shared dedication to make basketball extra accessible to the youth of Mozambique whereas additionally empowering girls and boys by way of STEM. We want to thank ExxonMobil for his or her dedication and help and sit up for doing extra for youth growth in Mozambique.”
5-time NBA champion Ron Harper: “It’s my first time in Mozambique, and I liked the vitality that each groups delivered to the courtroom and STEM Showcase immediately. I’ve skilled firsthand the convening energy of the sport of basketball, and I’m thrilled to see the impression it makes right here in Mozambique.”
Former WNBA participant and Mozambique basketball legend Clarisse Machanguana:
“We satisfaction ourselves in getting ready Jr. NBA individuals to be champions on and off the courtroom, this 12 months’s STEM program furthers the depth and sustainability of our basis’s mission – creating the subsequent era of future leaders. We’re excited for the alternatives created for our youth.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Nationwide Basketball Affiliation (NBA).
