The National Basketball Association (NBA), along with basketball’s international governing body, announced plans yesterday to host a developmental camp for male and female players in Cuba, in the first such initiative by a US pro sports league since the United States and the communist-ruled island em-barked on a diplomatic thaw in December.

Retired NBA stand-outs Steve Nash and Dikembe Mutombo, along with former WNBA star Ticha Penicheiro, will lead the training camp, set for April 23-26 in Havana.

The NBA will also join with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to refurbish three basketball courts and host youth basketball clinics at two Havana locations.

Cuba has a long history of basketball and has participated in four World Championships, but its players’ links to the NBA have been limited by a 50-year stand-off between Cuba and the US.

Mutombo, a Congolese-American elected to the US Basketball Hall of Fame, said “the visit to Cuba will be a fantastic opportunity to teach the values of our game and also learn from one another.”

The United States and Cuba agreed on December 17 to restore diplomatic ties after more than half a century of tensions, and President Barack Obama called for an end to a long-time US economic embargo.

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