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NBA players to coach 82 Morakot-affected children

National Basketball Association (NBA) players in Taipei next week for an exhibition game are to coach children affected by Typhoon Morakot for a day, the Taiwan chapter of the Christian charity organization World Vision said yesterday.

“As the first ever NBA game in Taipei is creating excitement across Taiwan, a group of children currently facing adversity — but still embracing their basketball dreams — will be given the once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from professional basketball players during an NBA basketball clinic in Taipei on Oct. 7 [Wednesday],” World Vision Taiwan said.

Retired San Antonio Spurs defensive star Bruce Bowen, Indiana Pacers star Danny Granger and his Pacers teammates will pass on their shooting, passing and dribbling skills to 82 World Vision-sponsored children, the charity organization said.

The children, aged between 12 and 14, are from Aboriginal communities in typhoon-stricken Chiayi County and other areas that have struggled against poverty or suffered severe property losses following Typhoon Morakot, which devastated the south of the country between Aug. 7 and Aug. 10.

The basketball clinic is part of the NBA Cares program that promotes social responsibility and community charity. NBA Cares chose to work with World Vision Taiwan because the two share a concern for child welfare, the charity said.

Taiwan will host its first ever NBA game when the Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers play an exhibition game at the Taipei Arena on Thursday, a breakthrough for a country where the NBA has a devoted following.

Taipei will become the eighth Asian city to host an NBA exhibition or regular season game. Tokyo, Yokohama and Saitama in Japan hosted six regular season two-game series between 1990 and 2003, while exhibitions have also been held in Beijing, Guangzhou, Macau and Shanghai.
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