HANOI —The National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States will launch an NBA Juniors competition in Viet Nam for the first time.

The NBA's international youth development programme will aim to promote participation in the sport and improve child fitness in Viet Nam.

The event will kick off with a coaches clinic on April 12, and an open clinic for kids the following day.

This year's schedule includes additional clinics leading up to the Selection Camp in May, where the top 40 boys and 24 girls, aged 10 to 14, will be chosen after a series of assessments that will detemine who will participate in the Jr NBA National Training Camp in HCM City from June 13-15.

The National Training Camp, which will be attended by an NBA legend and feature NBA Cares community outreach, covers a three-day intensive training schedule and will culminate in the selection of 14 boys and girls who will be named as the inaugural 2014 Junior NBA Viet Nam All-Stars.— VNS