Dallas Mavericks star Salah Mejri continues to help grow the game of basketball in his off-season this summer, as the Tunisian national delivers his SM50 Basketball Camp in Beirut, Lebanon.
Over a three-day schedule, 160 boys and girls aged 6-17 years old were invited to attend a host of life skill workshops, fundamental skill development sessions and off course the chance to play the game in 5-on-5 matches each day.
Those in attendance were also fortunate enough to meet and work with special professional guests including Egyptian-Lebanese player Ismail Ahmed, Beirut BC’s Basel Bawaji and Nadim Hakim, the President of Beirut Basketball Club.
Talking about the camp, Mejri said: “It’s a pleasure being able to give young Lebanese basketball players the opportunity to develop their fundamentals through my foundation in partnership with the Jr. NBA.
“The Salah Mejri 50 foundation’s mission is to bridge young basketball talent across the Arab world together to helping give them opportunities to fulfill their basketball dreams. The Salah Mejri Foundation (SM50) continues its commitment across the Middle East & North Africa region for the last 4 years through conducting Jr. NBA clinics & NBA Cares activities across the region.”
He added: “My most memorable highlight of my time in Beirut is the work we did with UNICEF Lebanon for our refugee clinic we conducted in partnership with Hoops club.”
Mejri also worked with UNICEF and his own initiative, The Mejri Foundation, to conduct NBA Care Clinics for 60 Syrian refugees. The importance of growing the game – no matter what your social status – is a key objective for the NBA within the GCC region.
Nader Girgis, Associate Vice President, EME said: “Seeing the interest from the SM50 Basketball Camp is encouraging for all of us at NBA, and we are delighted to support such initiatives across the region.”
