Central Girls and West Boys win the 2019 Jr. NBA Global Championship; India knocked out early

Two teams from the USA - Central (Girls) and West (Boys) won the 2019 Jr. NBA Global Championship on Sunday, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. This was the second edition of this event, which featured top 13-14 year-old teams from the USA and around the world, including India. For the second year in a row, both the winners were American; for Central (Girls), it was a second consecutive title.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, three-time NBA Champion and Jr. NBA Global Championship Ambassador Dwyane Wade and New Orleans Pelicans Vice President of Basketball Operations/Team Development and former WNBA All-Star Swin Cash presented the winning teams with trophies in postgame ceremonies. The global youth basketball tournament took place from August 6-11 and featured 32 boys and girls teams from around the world. Overall, 15,000 players from 75 countries participated across Jr. NBA Global Championship regional competitions.

The Central girls team, from Kansas City, Missouri, finished the week with a 7-0 record. The team, which defeated the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and West to advance to the Global Championship final, was led by returning champion S’mya Nichols and guards Chloe Clardy, Jada Williams and Kiara Smith, who scored a combined 43 points in the final win over Canada, 72-35.

The West boys team, from Los Angeles, went 2-1 in pool play before winning three straight games in bracket play, including victories over the Northwest, Central and the previously undefeated Southeast, to advance to the Global Championship final. West guard Tyler Rolison recorded a team-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Quinton Webb, Issac Martinez and Taj DeGourville combined for 39 points in Sunday's final victory over Africa, 70-61.

Prior to the championship games, former NBA star Grant Hill hosted an awards ceremony with other dignitaries, handing out awards representing the Jr. NBA’s four core values: Determination, Respect, Teamwork and Community.

India's boys and girls teams - comprising of the top performers of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme - also took part in this tournament for the second straight year. Although both teams were knocked out in the Quarter-Final stage of the International Bracket, India's boys put up an impressive show, winning one big game in overtime and nearly upsetting Canada in the knockouts. For India, young stars Lokendra Singh and Harsh Dagar made a name for themselves with some big performances. The top performer for India's girls team was Muskan Singh.

India's Results

Boys

• India bt. Latin America 73-76 OT
• Africa bt. India 63-21
• Europe and Middle East bt. India 52-41
• International Quarter-Final: Canada bt. India 64-56 OT
• Mid Atlantic bt. India 79-26

Girls

• Latin America bt. India 54-21
• Africa bt. India 57-36
• Europe and Middle East bt. India 62-23
• International Quarter-Final: Canada bt. India 65-26 OT
• Northeast bt. India 69-47