Teenage Ekaterine Tsivtsivadze picked for Europe’s basketball team of Jr. NBA Global Championship
Tsivtsivadze (middle) in action during the selection camp for the Europe team in Bologna. Photo: Georgian Basketball Federation.
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Georgian teenage basketball player Ekaterine Tsivtsivadze will be among young athletes representing the Europe and Middle East team at the second Jr. NBA Global Championship in Florida, the United States later this summer after she was selected for the honour.
Tsivtsivadze, born in 2004, was picked for the team after attending a selection camp in Bologna, Italy that ran between April 30-May 3.
Involving 60 players from 24 countries, the camp’s organisers eventually narrowed down the selection for the continental team to 10 boys and 10 girls that will travel to the US in August.
See highlights from the performances of the girls of the European team at last year’s Jr. NBA Global Championship below:
The Europe Girls won last year's International side of the bracket at the inaugural #JrNBAGlobalChampionship in Orlando! Relive the epic run to their title! ???? pic.twitter.com/kPxHZkND3I
— Jr. NBA (@jrnba) April 25, 2019
Tsivtsivadze learned about her selection while talking to Imedi TV programme hosts earlier today. She watched a surprise video message from Boris Diaw, a retired French player who represented National Basketball Association teams and won the championship with San Antonio Spurs, revealing the news on the pick to her.
The teenage athlete was overwhelmed by emotions on the live programme after learning she would be among the 20 competitors selected by NBA Basketball Operations staff and Jr. NBA League coaches.
Girls of the Europe and Middle East team won the International bracket at last year’s Jr. NBA Global Championship. This year’s edition of the tournament will be held between August 6-11 in Florida.
Tsivtsivadze will be the second player to be selected for the European team — last year, Luka Alavidze was part of the roster that took part in the inaugural championship.
The Jr. NBA league’s Georgian branch, from which prospective players are able to take part in international camps and the global tournament, is supported by the NBA, US Embassy in Georgia and the Georgian Basketball Federation.