SINGAPORE - The Junior National Basketball Association (NBA) Singapore National Training camp kicked off today, with the top 200 boys and girls selected from the Regional Training Programme starting a three-day programme in the hope of becoming a Junior NBA Singapore All-Star.

Eight boys and girls aged 10 to 14 will be selected to become a Junior NBA Singapore All-Star, where they will represent Singapore on an overseas trip to Shanghai with fellow Junior NBA All-Stars from around South-east Asia later in the year.

The Shanghai trip will include a live match between the reigning NBA champions Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves in a pre-season game.

The Junior NBA Singapore All-Stars will be selected on Sunday (Aug 13).

Yew Jun, a camper from Zhenghua Secondary School said: "It's quite good (the programme), the drills are fun and I do learn a lot of stuff from it.

" I want to have a chance to strike for the top 16 and represent Singapore at the Junior NBA overseas trip. It'll be quite fun as I have never watched a NBA game in person before so I want to experience how it is like in person."

The 13-year-old also won a half-court challenge at the end of the day in front of the camp, draining his shot and winning the elimination match against two other campers.

"It felt good, especially in front of people. The atmosphere is just different, it kind of feels like the crowd in an NBA game and when they go crazy, it feels good."

Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow, who is in town as a coach at the camp said: "They're (the campers) really good, they're really talented.

"They have great fundamentals, but the thing I take away the most is they really work hard, they're really going at it and getting after it. They're full of sweat, working hard and the coaches are great too. This is great, I'm just happy I can be part of it and help the kids."