FIBA Foundation Youth Leaders Reunite and Shine in Shenzhen

    3 min to read
    Youth Leadership
    Basketball For Good

    In Shenzhen, three FIBA Foundation Youth Leaders from China, Indonesia, and Lebanon turned basketball into a bridge for the next generation.

    SHENZHEN (China) – What do a retired Chinese pro player, an Indonesian community coach and an rising Lebanese basketball star have in common?

    You would consider them rivals, but for the young girls at last month’s FIBA China Summer Camp – they represent three distinct, yet equally bright, inspirations.

    Three rivers converge

    Shao Ting, Athini Mardlatika and Amar Mansour were all essaying different roles and responsibilities during the 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup.

    But their journeys crossed paths again in Shenzhen, as Basketball For Good ambassadors.

    The three FIBA Foundation Youth Leaders were all building on their experience from last year’s Youth Leadership Workshop in Singapore.

    The five-day camp Ting is referring to is the latest edition of Her World, Her Rules initiative - FIBA's largest and most recognized global grassroots program.

    For Ting, who led multiple activations, it was a chance for her to use the power of basketball to initiate a positive change within her home country.

    “I'm very happy that the project we designed in Singapore was realized during the Women's AsiaCup 2025. FIBA China invited over 100 young female basketball players from various countries to Shenzhen for a five-day training camp,” Ting said. “I was also honored to share my story with them and encourage them to continue to shine on the basketball court.”

    Traveling from Indonesia

    Athini Mardlatika travelled from Indonesia to China alongside nine participants as she was invited by her fellow Youth Leader Shao Ting.

    “I brought 8 young athletes from 2 different cities (Jakarta and Surabaya) and 1 young coach,” Mardlatika said.

    Athini Mardlatika (2nd from the left) and the Indonesian athletes.

    It was a unique prospect she didn’t want to miss.

    “I understand that it is not easy for our young athletes to get the opportunity to train abroad so that they can learn a lot not only about basketball itself, but from basketball they can learn many good things about life as student athletes, independence and adapting to diverse environments. So that they can see the wider world through basketball.”

    Seeing their Role Model in action

    Besides the intensity of program participation and the camaraderie of making friends from other countries, the youths also had the unbelievable courtside feel of watching Asia and Oceania’s top women’s basketball teams battle it out at the AsiaCup.

    Among the talents on display was Lebanon’s 20-year-old Amar Mansour. Not only was she leading from the front in The Cedars retaining their position in elite Division A, the 5ft 8” guard was also very conscious of role off the court as a Youth Leader.

    “The campaign for the young girls was truly inspiring and adds a deeper purpose to the tournament,” Mansour said. “I saw how the game created spaces for inclusion, teamwork, and confidence. It emphasized basketball’s ability to unite people and inspire the next generation.”

    Thanks to Ting, Mardlatika and Mansour, FIBA’s Strategic Priority “Women in Basketball”, to enhance female participation within local communities in Asia and around the world, is in safe hands.

    ***

    The FIBA Foundation is the social and legacy arm of FIBA that addresses the role of sports and particularly basketball in society, preserving and promoting basketball’s values and its cultural heritage.

    The FIBA Foundation believes that basketball has the power to empower, educate and inspire youth and facilitates this by implementing Basketball For Good projects around the world.

    FIBA