La National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP) announced last November an innovative multi-year collaboration to launch the Jr. NBA FIP U13 Championship. A unique tournament of its kind dedicated to boys and girls Under 13.
The project will involve 390 clubs from 13 Italian regions, who will compete in 14 leagues between November 2022 and May 2023. The winning teams of each league will advance to the Playoffs, in a single-elimination tournament that will elect the National Champion Jr. NBA FIP U13 Championship 2022-23.
The regions participating in the first edition of the Jr. NBA FIP U13 Championship will kick off the program with a “draft” event in which each team taking part in the Championship will be assigned an NBA team: all teams will receive, to play their games, the uniform of the NBA franchise to match them. The project will therefore see, for the first time ever, the Under 13 national champions – male and female – who will receive special rings for the occasion.
The Jr. NBA FIP U13 Championship will expand from 14 leagues to 27 leagues starting in year two, with the goal of reaching all regions of Italy by 2024 for a total of 1,040 teams in 37 leagues.
Everything is also ready in Sardinia for the “premiere” of the Jr. NBA FIP U13 Women’s Championship. The curtain of the event will open Sunday 22 January from 4pminside the Pala Antonianum a Quartu Sant’Elena where the project will be presented and the participating companies will be matched with the NBA franchises. During the afternoon, there was also the delivery of the legendary NBA jerseys, which will be the undershirts for the U13 teams throughout the season, and the official calendar of matches for each individual Division.
The regional committee will manage the “Feminine League of Sardinia” with the “Western Conference” and three “Divisions”: Northwest, Pacific and Southwest. In all 15 formations: Sap Alghero, Sant’Orsola Sassari, Dinamo 2000 Sassari, Polisportiva Dinamo, Basket Macomer, Cus Cagliari, San Salvatore Selargius, Astro Cagliari, Basket Tortolì, Basket Su Planu, Oratorio Elmas, Basket Ferrini, Virtus Cagliari, Joannes Sanluri and Nuovo Basket Oristano which, starting Sunday afternoon, will be linked to the names of the NBA formations, namely: Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trailblazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors; Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzles, Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans.
In Quartu Sant’Elena there will be some athletes from Dinamo Women Sassari, godmothers of the event, the Polish Anna Makurat and the Americans Samantha Thomas and Michelle Holmes.
