Swoopes, Cauley Stein to grace Jr. NBA camp

MANILA, Philippines – Basketball Hall-of-Famer Sheryl Swoopes and the Sacramento Kings’ Willie Cauley-Stein will fly to the Philippines to spice up the 2018 Jr. NBA Philippines presented by Alaska at the Don Bosco Technical Institute on May 19 and at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall the next day.

Swoopes, a retired three-time WNBA was inducted to the Basketball Hall-of-Fame last year, and Stein, one of the brightest young stars in the NBA today, will join the finalists of the annual event that will feature the country’s top young players and up and coming coaches.

The two were tapped to identify the top eight boys and eight girls to be part of the 2018 Jr. NBA Phl All-Stars that will travel to Shanghai, China in October this year to attend the NBA China Games 2018 featuring the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks.

They will also serve as coaches at the Jr. NBA Alumni All-Star Game.

The best players will be chosen from the 75 finalists aged 10-14 years old, who emerged from thousands of aspirants under the National Training Camp.

“I look forward to the opportunity to contribute in getting more kids, especially girls, to play the game of basketball and help them understand how hard work and dedication opened the doors for me,” said Swoopes.

Swoopes owns the distinction as the very first player to be signed in the WNBA where she won four championships, three MVPs, an All-Star MVP while gaining All-Star nod six times to become one of the Top 15 WNBA players of all time.

She retired in 2012 and is now an assistant at Texas Tech.

For Stein, he was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft and is currently with the Kings where he has averaged 12.8 points, seven rebounds and 2.4 assists this season.