Nike Global Challenge Returns to Portland - August 7-9

This release seems a little late as the 7th of August is only 2 days away, but at least you got it, right? Our lack of attendance at this year's event can be solely blamed on the beautiful ladies of En Vogue who have called out to us from the ever-classy Spirit Mountain Casino. We'll also be frequenting the wine garden at the Bite of Oregon on Saturday and cheering on some posse members during Sunday's Bridge Pedal which as you can tell, leaves us no time for showboating/spamming high school basketball.

The 3rd Annual Nike Global Challenge Returns to Liberty High School!

On Friday, August 7th the 2009 Nike Global Challenge returns to Liberty High School for three days of international competition featuring the top 30 American high school players battling the International elite from across the globe! The American teams will be broken down into 3-regional teams of 10 US Players per roster. The eight-team tournament is the culmination of the summer basketball season consisting of a variety of Nike Skills Academies in the United States, and various leagues and academies abroad. Players from the United States team are chosen based on their performance at the LeBron James Nike Skills Academy and / or the preceding positional skill academies with NBA stars Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Amar’e Stoudemire and Deron Williams.

The International teams will be represented by FMP Serbia Club, Brazil, Canada, Senegal and the All-Asia Camp team. FMP Serbia won their second consecutive EuroLeague junior championship that was held in conjunction with the EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin last May. Brazil is represented by their Under-19 National Team, while Team Canada consists of the top players in Canada selected by Nike Canada, along with Senegal’s SEED’s academy team. Rounding out the field is Team All-Asia Camp consisting of players from China, Korea and Australia. These players were selected based on past performances at the Nike All-Asia Camp.

Tournament Schedule

The Nike Global Challenge begins each day at 2:00pm with games running every 2 hours. There are four games per day and each ticket is good for four games. Single session tickets are only $5.00 with 3 Day Tournament Passes available for $15.00. Tickets will be available at the Liberty High School Box Office during the event or are available online at www.nikeglobalchallenge.com.

Rosters will be posted as soon as they are available.

Friday, August 7, 2009
Game 1: 2:00 pm - USA Midwest vs. Senegal
Game 2: 4:00 pm - Canada vs. FMP-Serbia
Game 3: 6:00 pm - USA West/South vs. Brazil
Game 4: 8:00 pm - USA East vs. All-Asia Camp

Saturday, August 8, 2009
Game 5: 2:00 pm - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 6: 4:00 pm - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 7: 6:00 pm - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 8: 8:00 pm - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Sunday, August 9, 2009
Game 9: 2:00 pm - Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 - 7th PLACE
Game 10: 4:00 pm - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 - 5th PLACE
Game 11: 6:00 pm - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 - 3rd PLACE
Game 12: 8:00 pm - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - CHAMPIONSHIP

NGC Alumni

In the past two years, two former Nike Global Challenge participants were drafted in the NBA Draft Lottery while the rest have gone on to successful collegiate careers at some of the top basketball programs in the country. Here are some of the top players who have played in the Nike Global Challenge:

2007 ALUMNI
Demar DeRozan -Toronto Raptors (USC)
Tyreke Evans - Sacramento Kings (Memphis)
Mike Dunigan - Oregon
Jordan Hamilton - Texas
Dashan Harris - Texas A&M
Scotty Hopson - Tennessee
Matt Humphrey - Oregon
Greg Monroe - Georgetown
Samardo Samuels - Louisville
Isaiah Thomas - Washington
Hollis Thompson - Georgetown
Brad Tinsley - Oregon City High School - Vanderbilt
Kemba Walker - Connecticut
Wesley Witherspoon - Memphis

2008 ALUMNI
Avery Bradley - Texas
Demarcus Cousins - Kentucky
Abdul Gaddy - Washington
Xavier Henry - Kansas
Mike Moser - Grant High School - UCLA
Mason Plumlee - Duke
Jeremy Tyler - Playing in Europe
Daniel Orton - Kentucky
John Wall - Kentucky

If you make it down to Liberty, let us know how it was and maybe next year we won't be serenaded by 90's hottie R&B groups.

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