Palpreet Singh Wins ACG-NBA Jump National Finals

• NBA Champion Brian Shaw Impressed with the 21-year old from Ludhiana–

• Palpreet will Attend NBA Development League Tryout in the United States –

DELHI, Feb. 25, 2016 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the ACG Worldwide Group (ACG) today announced Palpreet Singh as the winner of National Finals of ACG-NBA Jump, India’s first national basketball talent search program. The 21-year old will now attend the NBA Development League (NBA D-League) tryout in the United States in the month of June. NBA champion Brian Shaw, who was at the camp for two days, was impressed with Palpreet’s work ethic and court skills.

“ACG-NBA Jump has given basketball playing youth in India a pathway to professional ranks. We are committed to growing the program in the years to come,” said NBA India Managing Director Yannick Colaco.  “While Palpreet Singh has been selected for a national tryout in the NBA D-League, the entire pool will be a part of Elite Talent Club and NBA will monitor their progress on a regular basis.”

“Promotion of sports and youth development has always been a part of ACG’s CSR vision and the successful conclusion of this program is an important milestone towards realization of this vision,” said ACG Director Karan Singh. “The final pool of players represented the very goal of the program that was to identify and hone the untapped talent pool of basketball in India. We strongly believe that our partnership with NBA to tap this potential and create a solid platform for the aspirants has found the right beginning. We are as excited as the winner and hope that Palpreet Singh makes a long lasting impression in United States for the D-League National Tryout.”

“His feel for the game and understanding, I could tell he grasps it,” said Shaw. “Palpreet Singh, we all thought, was the guy who had the best chance to succeed.”

Palpreet Singh, winner of ACG NBA Final Nationals, with NBA Champion Brian Shaw at Jaypee Greens Sports Complex on February 25, 2016.

Palpreet Singh will continue to undergo training with NBA certified coaches in India up until the tryout in June 2016.  Sony SIX, the official broadcaster of the program, will create a feature around ACG-NBA Jump, following the program through its various stages and tracking the winner up until his NBA D-league tryout.

Palpreet was excited with this development. “I am thankful to ACG NBA Jump for this. I will focus on becoming a stronger player now that I am going to compete with some of the best in the world,” said Singh.

The NBA D-League is the NBA’s official minor league, serving to develop players, coaches, and front office executives. Entering its 15^th season, the NBA D-League features 19 teams in the U.S. and Canada, each of which is singly-affiliated with an NBA parent club. An all-time high 38% of players on 2014-15 NBA end-of-season rosters boasted NBA D-League experience.

Visit www.acgnbajump.com to learn more about the program. Fans can follow the NBA on Facebook (facebook.com/NBAIndia) and on Twitter (@NBAIndia) and download the NBA App for the latest news, updates, scores, stats, schedules, videos and more.

Winner’s profile:

Name: Palpreet Singh

Age: 21

From: Muktsar Sahaib, 150 kms from Ludhiana

Favourite Team: LA Clippers

Favourite Player: Blake Griffin

Position: Center

Height: 6.9"

Weight: 115 kgs

Dominate Hand: Right

Palpreet has represented India at SAFF Games, Lusofonia Games and Asian Games. He is the first person from his family and village Muktsar Sahaib to play basketball. He received his initial training at the famous Ludhiana Basketball Academy under the tutelage of coach Dr. S Subramaniam who trained Satnam Singh too.

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About the NBA:

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence with offices in 13 markets worldwide, games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2014-15 season featured a record 101 international players from 37 countries and territories. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA.com and NBA Mobile, which achieved record traffic during the 2014-15 season, as well as NBA TV. The NBA is the No. 1 professional sports league on social media, with more than 850 million likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league and its teams and players have donated more than $260 million to charity, completed more than 3.3 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 970 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.

About ACG Worldwide

ACG Cares Foundation is a community service platform for the ACG Worldwide Group. The ACG Worldwide Group is a leading provider of pharmaceutical machinery and products to pharmaceutical companies around the world. ACG is a global leader in hard two piece capsules shells. The group comprises of 14 companies, including subsidiaries in China, USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand and Europe. ACG has 15 manufacturing facilities and more than 4000 associates working around the world. Since its inception, ACG has endeavored to fulfill its responsibility towards society and CSR has always been a part of organizational philosophy. ACG has been working with communities long before CSR became an area of active interest amongst majority of stakeholders. . ACG’s CSR programme is driven by the basic premise of ‘Giving Back’ to the society and it is channelized through ‘ACG Cares Foundation’, which has actively pursued interventions in the thematic areas of Health, Education, Promotion of Sports and Environment.

About the NBA Development League:

The NBA Development League is the NBA’s official minor league, preparing players, coaches, officials, trainers, and front-office staff for the NBA while acting as the league’s research and development laboratory.  Featuring 19 teams with direct affiliations with NBA franchises for the 2015-16 season, the league offers elite professional basketball at an affordable price in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere.  An all-time high 38 percent of all NBA players at the end of the 2014-15 season boasted NBA D-League experience.  In fostering the league’s connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote health and wellness, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational development through NBA D-League Cares programs.  Fans can watch all NBA D-League games on nbadleague.com.