Miami Heat's Luol Deng to grace Uganda's basketball event

NBA star Luol Deng, playing for Miami Heat, is expected to arrive in Uganda on Friday to grace the final of the FUBA Jr. NBA League final.

"We are expecting Deng to fly in on Friday ahead of the final on Saturday at the MTN Arena, Lugogo between Mashariki High Pelicans and KISU Bucks," said president of the Federation of Uganda Basketball Association (FUBA), Ambrose Tashobya, Xinhua reported.

The small forward and two-time AllStar who has played at Chicago Bulls, had a stint at Cavaliers and now with Miami Heat will be in the country to motivate the young basketball players.

"It is our hope that young aspiring basketball players such as those in the FUBA Jr. NBA League will be inspired to follow their dreams and reach for the stars when they meet and interact with such amazing talent from Africa like Deng," said Tashobya.

The FUBA Jr. NBA League, which is open to boys ages 12-15, had 30 teams from schools around the capital city Kampala competing in the Eastern and Western Conferences with regular inter-conference League games played at various schools every weekend since the launch of the league back in May.

NBA Vice President and Managing Director for Africa, Amadou Gallo Fall said he is excited to be back in Uganda since the launch of the league a couple of months ago this time with an NBA super star.

"Following the success of the first NBA game on the African continent, we are very excited to have Luol (Deng) with us in Kampala at the Jr. NBA League Finals," Gallo said in a press release. "This event will be the culmination of a successful inaugural season and I look forward to spending time with Ugandan youth once again."