The National Basketball Association (NBA) (www.NBA.com) today announced that the 2024 NBA Academy Games, a basketball showcase for top high-school-age prospects from around the world, will take place at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta, Ga. from Wednesday, July 10 – Sunday, July 14. 

The fifth edition of the NBA Academy Games will feature eight teams: four teams of top prospects from the league’s academies in Australia, Mexico and Senegal, a select team comprised of top prospects from outside the U.S., and three Nike EYBL teams – All Iowa Attack (Iowa), Howard Pulley (Minn.) and MOKAN Elite (Mo.). Linked here (https://apo-opa.co/45RNGsn) are the rosters of the participating teams (rosters are subject to change).

The event will include team practices, life-skills sessions centered on player pathway education, and 24 exhibition games that will culminate with a single-elimination tournament and championship game. In addition to being open to NBA team personnel, the event will be held during an NCAA live recruiting period and will be open to NCAA coaches and scouts from Thursday, July 11 – July 14.

All 24 games will be livestreamed on the NBA App and highlights featured on NBA Future Starts Now (https://apo-opa.co/4bsMnRJ).

Wednesday, July 10

Team 1

Team 2

Time (ET)

NBA Academy Latin America

NBA Academy Africa Red

3:00 p.m.

NBA Academy Select

MOKAN Elite

3:30 p.m.

NBA Academy Africa Blue

NBA Global Academy

5:00 p.m.

Howard Pulley

All Iowa Attack

5:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 11

NBA Academy Africa Red

Howard Pulley

9:00 a.m.

NBA Academy Latin America

All Iowa Attack

9:15 p.m.

NBA Academy Africa Blue

NBA Academy Select

10:45 a.m.

NBA Global Academy

MOKAN Elite

11:00 a.m.

NBA Academy Latin America

Howard Pulley

4:30 p.m.

NBA Academy Africa Red

All Iowa Attack

4:45 p.m.

NBA Academy Select

NBA Global Academy

6:15 p.m.

NBA Academy Africa Blue

MOKAN Elite

6:30 p.m.

Friday, July 12

Quarterfinal Game 1

3:00 p.m.

Quarterfinal Game 2

3:30 p.m.

Quarterfinal Game 3

5:00 p.m.

Quarterfinal Game 4

5:30 p.m.

Saturday, July 13

Consolation Game 1

3:00 p.m.

Semifinal Game 1

3:30 p.m.

Consolation Game 2

5:00 p.m.

Semifinal Game 2

5:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 14

Seventh-Place Game

10:00 a.m.

Third-Place Game

10:30 a.m.

Fifth-Place Game

12:00 p.m.

Championship Game

12:30 p.m.

The event will be supported by NBA Academy partners Nike, which will outfit the participants with apparel and footwear, and Gatorade, which will keep the players and coaches hydrated throughout.

More than 115 NBA Academy prospects have received NCAA Division I scholarships and 25 have signed professional contracts, including seven NBA players: Ibou Badji (Portland Trail Blazers; Senegal; NBA Academy Africa; 2018 NBA Academy Games), Ulrich Chomche (Toronto Raptors; Cameroon; NBA Academy Africa), Dyson Daniels (New Orleans Pelicans; Australia; NBA Global Academy; 2019 NBA Academy Games), Josh Giddey (Chicago Bulls; Australia; NBA Global Academy; 2019 NBA Academy Games), Johnny Furphy (Indiana Pacers; Australia; NBA Global Academy), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Dallas Mavericks; Canada; ties to Haiti; NBA Academy Latin America; 2019 NBA Academy Games) and Bennedict Mathurin (Indiana Pacers; Canada; ties to Haiti; NBA Academy Latin America; 2019 NBA Academy Games).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Basketball Association (NBA).

2023 NBA Academy Games recap (https://apo-opa.co/3xGk1pk) (Credit: NBA Academy)

Contact:
Mark Pozin
NBA Communications
347-852-5374
mpozin@nba.com

12-407-8828
mpozin@nba.com

About NBA Academy:
NBA Academy is a year-round elite basketball development program that provides top high-school-age athletes from outside the U.S. with a holistic approach to player development and a predictable pathway to maximize their potential. The NBA Academy program includes three academies across Australia (NBA Global Academy), Mexico (NBA Academy Latin America) and Senegal (NBA Academy Africa) for top athletes from their respective countries and continents, as well as development and exposure events for top international prospects. The program emphasizes health and wellness, character development and life skills, and gives athletes the opportunity to learn the game from coaches with professional, collegiate and international coaching experience.  To date, more than 115 NBA Academy participants have received NCAA Division I scholarships and 25 have signed professional contracts. Find out more about the NBA Academy program at NBAAcademy.NBA.com and on Instagram (@NBAAcademy).

In its latest natural gas policy brief, global trade association EnerGeo Alliance has positioned natural gas as the premier transition fuel for South Africa, citing its reduced carbon emissions, scalability and cost competitiveness. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) (www.EnergyChamber.org)– as the voice of the African energy sector – supports these data-driven findings and calls for greater foreign investment in Africa’s natural gas prospects.

South Africa’s power supply remains in urgent need of diversification away from aging coal- and diesel-powered plants. While the country is looking to renewables to diversify its power mix and alleviate load shedding, the brief identifies natural gas as the ideal transition fuel to achieving a low-carbon future and meeting the demands of South Africa’s rapidly growing population and economy. According to the report, countries that use gas as a source for power generation have seen their electricity supply grow approximately three times faster in the past decade than those without gas. The Chamber has long advocated for the exploration and development of Africa’s natural gas resources – of which the continent holds over 620 trillion cubic feet – and commends EnerGeo Alliance for championing its expanded role in the energy mix.

With member companies spanning more than 50 countries, EnerGeo Alliance brings together the global geoscience industry to discover, develop and deliver alternative energy and low-carbon energy solutions that meet growing energy demand. Natural gas emits 50-60% less carbon dioxide, rendering it a relatively clean energy source able to meet power demand reliably and at scale. Gas also serves as a critical feedstock for the production of fertilizers and petrochemicals, as well as a source of process heat in energy-intensive industries, creating the potential to decarbonize heavy industry. According to the World Economic Forum, a tripling of sub-Saharan Africa’s power consumption using natural gas would only correspond to a one percent increase in global carbon emissions.

Natural gas also represents the most cost-effective pathway to energy security for South Africa and the continent at-large. It can provide both base load and backup power – whereas solar and wind power present intermittency problems – and is more cost-competitive as a base load supply than nuclear. According to the policy brief, large-scale discoveries like Brulpadda-Luiperd, the offshore Orange Basin and shale reserve prospects in the Karoo Basin suggest that South Africa could not only meet its power demand through domestic gas resources, but also stimulate broader economic development through regional gas exports.

EnerGeo Alliance highlights South Africa’s promising reserves in Mossel Bay and the Orange River Basin, as well as shale gas in the Karoo Basin, for further upstream investment. Through advanced seismic survey, upstream geoscience and data generation activities play a key role in identifying potential gas reserves, de-risking exploration and reducing the environmental footprint associated with gas exploration and extraction. Major investment is also needed across South Africa’s midstream and downstream sectors, including regional transmission pipelines, gas storage facilities and gas-to-liquids, regasification and LNG plants. While the construction of gas-fired power plants is already underway at Coega, Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay, new projects are needed to boost South Africa’s gas availability and reliability.

“The AEC supports the EnerGeo Alliance in positioning gas as critical to South Africa’s energy independence and low-carbon future. The science confirms this, and the bottom line confirms this. More capital must flow to African upstream and integrated gas projects, and we must support the geoscience community so that natural gas exploration is no longer seen as a risk, but as a given,” says NJ Ayuk, AEC Executive Chairman. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) Director General Marilyn T. Logan will showcase the country’s frontier exploration prospects at the Invest in African Energy reception in London on July 11, which acts as a precursor to African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy (http://apo-opa.co/3VMQTpp) 2024 in Cape Town this November.

Liberia is looking to attract major explorers to drive exploration of its prospective hydrocarbon resources, engaging surveying services firm TGS to reprocess over 24,000 km of 2D and over 15,600 km2 of 3D multi-client seismic data in the Liberia and Harper basins. Reigniting its West African exploration focus, American multinational ExxonMobil has expressed interest in and secured pre-qualification for four exploration blocks in the Liberia basin – LB-15, LB-16, LB-22 and LB-24 – supported by the country’s ongoing direct negotiation process initially launched in 2021. The company has a longstanding history in Liberia, having acquired petroleum rights for then-Block 13 in 2013 and drilled the Mesurado-1 well in 2016.

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

The Invest in African Energy reception in London will preview the continent’s available oil and gas acreage, as well as major opportunities across midstream and downstream segments. Last May, the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) and Stratcon Energy and Trading Company of Ghana signed an agreement for the supply of petroleum products in the Liberian market. Under the partnership, LPRC will import petroleum products from its regional neighbor, with a view to increasing Liberia’s strategic fuel reserves, stabilizing fuel prices and ensuring energy security.

“Liberia is home to a diverse range of investment opportunities, which will be showcased by LPRA at the London reception. In addition to featuring frontier oil and gas exploration prospects and securing the interest of global majors like ExxonMobil, Liberia holds the potential to become a major petroleum hub for landlocked countries in the region,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

The Invest in African Energy London reception takes place at the Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane from 17:00 to 21:00. Register now at https://apo-opa.co/3XIWuyz or contact register@aecweek.com.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

By NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber (www.EnergyChamber.org).

South Africa is in many ways one of the most modern countries in Africa, particularly with respect to electricity access. Yet while its numbers compare favorably with most other African nations (as of 2021, 89.3% of the population had reliable access to electricity, making it the fifth-highest ranking in the continent according to the World Bank), it still shares some of the same core problems as the others: an unreliable energy supply facing a rapidly growing population, an expanding economy, and increasing urbanization.

With climate change looming large over any debate about energy, the pressure is on from more economically developed nations for Africa to bypass older energy technologies and jump straight to renewables. As wonderful as that may sound in theory, the key to supplying a growing nation is stability, and the key to stability is diversity. For South Africa, whose current power generation structure is dominated by coal, that means including natural gas — which Africa has in almost as much abundance as sun and wind — to help steady the supply of energy while renewable technology continues to mature.

Diversifying the energy supply is not as simple as opening the door and putting out the welcome mat, however. For energy suppliers to thrive in a new market, they need to see stability as well — stability of policy and infrastructure. Companies don’t like doing business where the rules are Byzantine, and their physical needs are difficult or impossible to supply. To support the expansion of its natural gas infrastructure and ensure a more prosperous future, there are several policy initiatives that South Africa should embrace.

Physical Needs

The most obvious place to start is expanding the existing gas networks to support wider distribution.

Current supply is highly localized in just three areas around Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal. Adequate storage facilities are sorely lacking outside of these zones and need to be built before pipeline networks can be installed to distribute the gas. Plans are currently underway to develop such facilities in Coega, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay, and just across the border in Maputo, Mozambique. This is a good start, but more will be needed to facilitate prompt additional power generation when a renewables-based grid needs assistance. Terminals and regasification plants for liquefied natural gas (LNG) would also enhance the country’s import capacity. Public-private partnerships with corporations such as ExxonMobil and Royal Vopak, along with international collaborations among governments, could help accelerate these developments.

South Africa also needs to do more to access and utilize its own native supply of natural gas in areas like Mossel Bay, the Orange River Basin, and the shale formations of the Karoo Basin. Seismic surveys and exploratory drilling are needed to more accurately characterize the resources available and optimize the location of gas processing and transport infrastructure. Energy independence is an important factor in long-term stability, as evidenced in Europe when Russian gas imports were abruptly cut off.

The country could also benefit from converting old, mothballed coal-fired power plants to use natural gas instead. This could save time and money by requiring fewer new builds, and also recover jobs that were lost when these facilities were decommissioned. Although some coal plants can be converted to diesel, LNG is a more environmentally friendly option that more efficiently supports combined-cycle and open-cycle gas turbine plants.

Policy Needs

As is so often the case, much of what stands in the way of progress comes down to policy and paperwork. It’s all well and good to say we need more exploration, but unclear permitting and consulting processes, lengthy appeals timelines that exceed regulatory allowances, and limited permit validity periods for reconnaissance activities are highly discouraging to potential investors and developers, who need assurance that they aren’t throwing their time and money into a bottomless pit.

Instead, development partners need clear, stable, and supportive regulations to ensure legal certainty for projects. Policy implementation and permitting must be transparent and provide a clear framework for discussion and decision-making when considering risks, mitigations, and economic development goals.

A policy brief published by Eye for Business and commissioned by The EnerGeo Alliance in May 2024 offered a number of suggested policy reforms aimed at streamlining energy development in South Africa. The EnerGeo Alliance is a global trade alliance for the energy geoscience industry, representing geoscience companies, innovators, and energy developers. Steps recommended by the brief include well-thought-out reforms that could quickly spur much-needed investment in the country:

Implementing clear and stable policies that support the development and integration of natural gas within the energy sector.
Addressing policy gaps regarding new gas sources and creating incentives for investment in gas infrastructure.
Streamlining geoscience survey permitting and consultation processes to provide critical data for identifying and developing domestic natural gas resources.
Providing certainty for project proponents who have received relevant exploration rights and environmental authorizations.
Considering standardized and coordinated assessment of environmental impacts and consultations to provide greater confidence for all stakeholders and reduce redundant assessments and consultations.
Initiating regular licensing rounds for offshore exploration activities to provide opportunities for investment and enhance competition.
Extending the validity of reconnaissance rights to offer project proponents more flexibility in seismic data acquisition, even when weather and environmental sensitivities cause slowdowns.
Prioritizing the construction of LNG terminals and other necessary infrastructure to support natural gas import, storage, and transportation.
Establishing a clear timeline detailing how natural gas can add value in the immediate future, well before renewables become available.
Establishing stringent safety standards and regular maintenance schedules for gas infrastructure to mitigate risks and ensure long-term operational integrity.

To expand on that last item, while it is important for economic development to provide a supportive environment for investors, any wise society must also take steps to protect itself from being taken advantage of due to lax or nonexistent regulation that can result in compromises to oil and gas infrastructure. A stable supply of energy can only occur when safety and security regulations are respected and consistently enforced.

With national energy demand expected to triple by 2040, South Africa must plan wisely to expand and stabilize its energy supply, both imported and domestic, while respecting well-founded concerns about future climate change. Natural gas is the most reliable, efficient, abundant, and lowest-carbon fuel available to bridge the gap to a fully renewable future. If we are to utilize it responsibly, we must first provide a sound, sensible, and transparent policy foundation to smooth the road for all who wish to see South Africa prosper in the decades to come.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.