Mourning, Arcain and Tanjevic among 11 top basketball personalities making up 2019 Class of FIBA Hall of Fame

MARCH 26, 2019

MIES (Switzerland) - Alonzo Mourning (USA), Janeth Arcain (Brazil) and Bogdan Tanjevic (Montenegro) are among the 11 top basketball personalities that make up the FIBA Hall of Fame's 2019 Class of Inductees.

After being a part of the USA team that finished third at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 1990, Mourning helped the Americans reclaim the title four years later and then went on to add an Olympic gold medal at the Sydney Olympics. On top of these achievements for his country, he also had an illustrious 16-year NBA career.

Arcain is widely considered one of the best players in the women's game and as such boasts an impressive list of accomplishments. The biggest among these are helping Brazil to win the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in 1994 and follow that up with an Olympic silver medal two years later in Atlanta.

Tanjevic led Italy to the title at FIBA EuroBasket 1999 and helped Yugoslavia finish second at the 1981 edition of Europe's biggest basketball competition. He also famously steered Turkey all the way to the Final at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2010 on home soil.

Mourning and Arcain are two of eight players being enshrined. They are joined by: Margo Dydek (Poland - posthumously), Atanas Golomeev (Bulgaria), Fabricio Oberto (Argentina), Jose "Piculin" Ortiz (Puerto Rico), Mohsen Medhat Warda (Egypt) and Jiri Zidek (Czech Republic).

Joining Tanjevic among the coaches rounding out this impressive class are Natalia Hejkova (Slovak Republic) and Mou Zuoyun (China - posthumously).

These 11 basketball greats, from 11 different countries across three continents, were selected from a list of more than 150 candidates. Combined, they have won 2 FIBA Basketball World Cups and 6 Olympic medals.

The 2019 Class will be enshrined into FIBA's Hall of Fame during a special ceremony taking place in Beijing, China, on August 30, on the eve of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 tipping off. They will be presented at half-time of the opening game in Beijing on August 31.

Arcain said: "I'm very happy to be a part of the 2019 Class of the FIBA Hall of Fame Inductees. It means a lot to get an honor like this from FIBA, which does so much for the game of basketball. All of my life, I have done everything I could to represent myself, my family and my country as best as possible. It's also been very important to me to serve as a role model for the children who look up to me. As a Brazilian, to be joining in the FIBA Hall of Fame, some of the greats from my country like Hortencia (Marcari), Magic Paula (Maria Paula Silva) and Oscar Schmidt... I don't have the words to describe that feeling."

FIBA President Horacio Muratore said: "It's a tremendous pleasure and honor to announce the 11 basketball personalities that make up the 2019 Class of FIBA Hall of Fame Inductees. Through this class, we are proud to say we now have our first-ever inductees from China, Czech Republic, Montenegro and Slovak Republic. These eight players and three coaches have performed on the biggest stages and achieved success at the highest level. In doing so, they have also helped grow and develop our game by inspiring new generations of players and coaches. We look forward to paying tribute to them and having them be a part of the FIBA Hall of Fame."

Here is the full list of inductees that make up the 2019 Class of the FIBA Hall of Fame:

Players
Janeth Arcain (Brazil)
Margo Dydek (Poland - posthumously)
Atanas Golomeev (Bulgaria)
Alonzo Mourning (USA)
Fabricio Oberto (Argentina)
Jose "Piculin" Ortiz (Puerto Rico)
Mohsen Medhat Warda (Egypt)
Jiri Zidek (Czech Republic)

Coaches
Natalia Hejkova (Slovak Republic)
Bogdan Tanjevic (Montenegro)
Mou Zuoyun (China - posthumously)

TORONTO RAPTORS’ PASCAL SIAKAM RECEIVES
FEBRUARY NBA CARES COMMUNITY ASSIST AWARD

PRESENTED BY KAISER PERMANENTE

– NBA and Kaiser Permanente to Donate $10,000 to Right To Play –

NEW YORK, March 22, 2019 – Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has received the February NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente in recognition of his efforts to empower and inspire youth in both local and global communities, the NBA announced today. The award recognizes an NBA player each month who best reflects the passion that the league and its players share for giving back to their communities.

Kaiser Permanente and the NBA are honoring Siakam for his efforts to engage youth through the game across Canada and Africa. Siakam visits numerous schools in Toronto and throughout Canada as an ambassador for Right To Play, encouraging students to rise above adversity through sports and education. As a representative for the Sun Life Dunk for Diabetes program, he also inspires children to lead healthy and active lives. Utilizing his fluency in English and French, he has empowered youth in many marginalized communities to overcome obstacles and become leaders.

In August, the Cameroon native played in the NBA Africa Game 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa and visited the 16^th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa, where he mentored campers in oncourt development and life skills training as an alumnus of the program. Throughout the week, Siakam participated in a series of events that left a lasting impact in Johannesburg, including a Habitat for Humanity service project, a training camp for the Jr. NBA World Championship Africa & Middle East teams and a visit to the Nelson Mandela Centre for Memory. In December, he represented Cameroon at the Giants of Africa Gala in Toronto, part of a two-day celebration honoring Nelson Mandela and his vision that sports have the power to inspire and change the world.

“I am excited and honored to receive the Community Assist Award for February. My passion is basketball and I’m so lucky to be able to use this sport to give back to my community,” said Siakam. “Basketball is bigger than just a game. It’s an opportunity to give back to my new home of Toronto as well as Cameroon.”

Before the Raptors’ home game against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday (6:00 p.m. ET), NBA Canada Managing Director Dan MacKenzie and Toronto Raptors General Manager Bobby Webster will present the award to Siakam during an oncourt ceremony. In addition, Kaiser Permanente and the NBA will donate $10,000 on Siakam’s behalf to Right To Play.

The NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente honors the standard set by NBA legend David Robinson, who improved the community piece by piece. At the end of the 2018-19 regular season, the Seasonlong NBA Cares Community Assist Award winner will be announced at the 2019 NBA Awards presented by Kia. To learn more, please visit http://www.nba.com/communityassist/.

BOSTON’S MARCUS SMART FINED

NEW YORK, March 21, 2019 – Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been fined $50,000 for forcefully shoving Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid to the floor, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

Smart’s fine was also based on his repeated acts of unsportsmanlike conduct during NBA games, including two prior incidents this season which have resulted in fines.

The incident, for which Smart received a Flagrant Foul 2 and an automatic ejection, occurred with 7:06 remaining in the third quarter of the Celtics’ 118-115 loss to the 76ers on March 20 at Wells Fargo Center.

To view the incident, click on the following link:

https://www.nba.com/video/2019/03/21/celtics-76ers

NBA 2K LEAGUE ANNOUNCES 2019 SCHEDULE

- New NBA 2K League Partner AT&T Named Presenting Partner of

THE BANNER CHAIN Tournament Series -

- 2019 Season Begins on April 2 with THE TIPOFF Airing Live on Twitch at 5 p.m. ET -

NEW YORK, March 19, 2019 – The NBA 2K League today announced the schedule of regular-season matchups and tournaments for the league’s second season, which begins April 2-6 with THE TIPOFF powered by AT&T. THE TIPOFF, THE TURN, and THE TICKET are the three tournaments that feature all 21 teams competing for banners that link together to form THE BANNER CHAIN powered by AT&T.

This year, each team will play a total of 16 regular-season games, which will now be on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. All regular-season games will take place at the NBA 2K League Studio Powered by Intel in Long Island City, New York, and will be livestreamed on the league’s Twitch channel.

The 2018 NBA 2K League Champion Knicks Gaming will begin its title defense on Tuesday, April 2 when the team hosts NetsGC in their first-ever NBA 2K League game at 8 p.m. ET. On Wednesday, April 3, T-Wolves Gaming will make their NBA 2K League debut when they take on Grizz Gaming at 5 p.m. ET. Hawks Talon GC and Lakers Gaming begin their first seasons on Thursday, April 4, with Atlanta facing off against Pacers Gaming at 6 p.m. ET, and Los Angeles playing Celtics Crossover Gaming at 9 p.m. ET.

In addition to being named presenting partner of THE BANNER CHAIN, AT&T will create branded content for select NBA 2K League Twitch streams and will also run the “AT&T Game Day Show,” which will air in connection with THE TIPOFF, THE TURN and THE TICKET, the NBA 2K League Playoffs and the NBA 2K League Finals.

“Being part of the NBA 2K League’s second season is an exciting new opportunity for us as we look to connect with the passion of esports players and fans,” said Shiz Suzuki, assistant vice president of Sponsorships & Experiential Marketing for AT&T Communications. “Supporting The Game Day Show is another way our official multiyear marketing relationship will allow us to bring the gaming action closer to fans.”

The weekly matchups during the regular-season will determine playoff seeding. THE BANNER CHAIN tournaments staggered throughout the season help generate rivalries as teams compete for prize pools and one guaranteed spot in the playoffs for the winner of the final tournament, THE TICKET. The NBA 2K League will award $1.2 million in prize money throughout the 2019 season, with the largest prize pool reserved for the 2019 NBA 2K League champions.

The 2019 NBA 2K League Playoffs will tip off Wednesday, July 24 and will take place over three days of gameplay. Each playoff round will be a best-of-three series. The seven teams with the best regular-season records and the winner of THE TICKET are guaranteed playoff spots. The playoffs will culminate with the 2019 NBA 2K League Finals on Saturday, August 3, and the Finals will be a best-of-five series.

For more information, fans can follow the NBA 2K League on Twitter (NBA2KLeague), Instagram (nba2kleague), Facebook (NBA 2K League), YouTube (NBA 2K League) and visit NBA2KLeague.com.

JDC BASKETBALL LEAGUE SUB-24

LIGA SUB-24 ABRE INSCRIPCIONES PARA TORNEO FEMENINO

El torneo Sub-24 femenino de JDC Basketball League anunció hoy que las inscripciones para el venidero campeonato 2019 ya están abiertas.

Todo equipo, municipio o liga que desee participar en la temporada tiene que comunicarse con el Sr. César Hernández al (787) 608-4809 en o antes del viernes 31 de mayo.

En la venidera competencia iniciará en junio, pueden participar jóvenes que hayan nacido en o antes del 1995. El costo de franquicia será $1,200 dólares, incluye uniforme.

Las Juanas de la Universidad de Puerto Rico recinto de Mayagüez fueron las campeonas en el 2018 al vencer en el mínimo de dos encuentros a las Tigresas de la Universidad Interamericana.

Jugadoras de la talla y experiencia en el Baloncesto Superior Nacional Femenino como Kiara Quiñones, Madelyn Velázquez, Keiry Huertas, Ashley Torres, Frances Lee Flores, Lyannis Torres y Daneichka Canales fueron algunas de las que participaron en el último torneo.

Para mayor información pueden visitar la página oficial en Facebook: JDC Basketball League.

NBA Digital Launches New 10-Minute Pass for Live Games

10 Minutes of Access to NBA League Pass Available via NBA.com and NBA App for $0.99

NBA Digital, co-managed by the NBA and Turner Sports, today announced the launch of NBA 10-Minute Pass on NBA League Pass beginning Saturday, March 16. NBA 10-Minute Pass will provide fans the option to purchase 10 minutes of real-time access to live out-of-market NBA games for $0.99 by tapping “Watch” from any game page on NBA.com or within the NBA App. As part of the new offering, fans can watch as many live games as they choose during the 10-minute window.

“NBA 10-Minute Pass offers unprecedented flexibility for fans to watch live NBA games when it is convenient for them,” said Chris Benyarko, NBA Senior Vice President, Direct to Consumer. “This new offering on NBA League Pass is an important step toward reaching and engaging the widest possible audience.”

“We’re committed to providing choices within our NBA League Pass product, and this new feature offers even more options for our passionate fans,” said Mark Johnson, SVP/GM Digital, Turner Sports. “With the launch of this 10-Minute Pass, fans can watch live NBA games on their time. We’re excited to partner with the NBA as the first major sports league to open up this live digital opportunity.”

At the start of the 2018-19 NBA season, NBA League Pass began offering the ability to purchase a single game from the end of the third quarter to the conclusion of the game for $1.99. In December 2018, NBA Digital launched quarter-by-quarter pricing on NBA League Pass, giving fans the option to purchase a single game at reduced prices after each quarter. Single games are available for $6.99, with the option to pay $4.99 at the end of the first quarter and $2.99 at the end of the second quarter.