The inaugural edition of the camp, sponsored by Euroleague Basketball, Beijing Land Sports and adidas, was a huge hit among 280 girls and boys ages 18 and under who made the first week of activities an unqualified success.

"Their only complaint was that it was too short," BLS chairman Ma Ming said. "They all wanted to come back for another week to learn more."

The camp is the first event in a new project whose goal is to share European and Chinese basketball knowledge and practices among players, coaches, referees, doctors, physical education teachers and others. At the center of all those efforts will be the development of young players in China, where basketball's vast popularity has produced countless talents who will now have the chance to learn from the highest-quality Euroleague Basketball professionals.

The summer camp runs in week-long sessions from July 7 to 28, and includes not only youth players, but local Chinese coaches, who are taking part in an instructor training clinic so that the European methods may be dispersed among more young basketball players throughout the year.

"This is a great step in our growing relationship with Chinese basketball, and a very exciting one since it directly engages some of the many young basketball lovers there," Roser Queralto, Euroleague Basketball's Chief Business Development Officer, said. "For almost a decade, we have enjoyed diverse experiences in China with our clubs and Euroleague Basketball stars, everything from sold-out games to private sessions of One Team, our corporate social responsibility programme, to help disadvantaged children. This first step in bringing European basketball expertise to China and vice-versa can only strengthen those ongoing ties."

A trio of alumni from the Euroleague Basketball Institute's Mastermind Coaching Seminars provided the instruction to the campers in China. Dimitris Daniil of Greece has worked with nine Greek clubs over the past 14 years. Riet Larieda of Switzerland has been part of his country's national team system for most of his 25 years as a coach. Finally, Rob Newson originally from the United Kingdom, helped establish the first professional basketball team in Vietnam.

The relationship between China and Euroleague Basketball stretches back to 2007, when CSKA Moscow and Benetton Treviso played Team China in exhibition games near Shanghai. It continued with Chinese junior national teams competing at the last three Nike International Junior Tournaments; professional exchanges of Chinese coaches with Euroleague teams; and Chinese basketball delegations attending the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four to share the experience of the definitive event of the season in Europe. Another highlight came last October as Real Madrid made a historic first-time visit to China. The Madrid stars not only played the Beijing Ducks in an exhibition game, but also hosted a clinic for local youths and a One Team event for disadvantaged children in the Chinese capital.