Sprite Slam tourney comes to Nairobi

By Erick Ochieng’

The final leg of the Sprite Slam Basketball tournament kicks off tomorrow at Nairobi Railway Club.

Former All-Star and National Basketball Association (NBA) power forward Juwan Antonio Howard, who plays for Charlotte Bobcats, will help with the two-day selection.

Between five and seven players will be chosen from 21 who will then contest for a final slot in Nairobi.

The players chosen will join a contingent of 21 selected from the previous regional activations for a trip to South Africa where they will attend the "Basketball Without Borders" NBA camp in Johannesburg next month.

Sprite Slam featured a series of mini-camps in Eldoret, Kisumu and Mombasa where the players who will be in contest tomorrow were picked.

Novice players

The mini-camps were held between July 25 and August 7 and attended by professional and novice players. Hundreds are expected at the Nairobi Railway Club today for a daylong mini-camp supervised by Kenya Basketball Federation coaches.

Other countries staging the tournament include Uganda and Angola and will send five players each to the BWB camp.

Programme Managers appointed by Miles & Associates International are running the event in each of the participating nations.

In Kenya the event is managed and sponsored by Coca-Cola East and Central Africa to the tune of Sh40 million.

The company is investing the funds in the discovery of youth talent in the sport, as well as refurbishing 50 basketball courts across the country.