Toronto Raptors to host training sessions in Halifax – NBA Update
Ever since they traded away Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors have been in the re-building phase and in recent times; the Canadian franchise has taken a turn towards the younger direction.
In order to continue preparing for the coming season, the Raptors are set to go through training camp in Halifax – a place where the Raps played their first ever NBA game against Philadelphia 76ers in 1995.
The announcement of holding the training camp in the capital of Nova Scotia was made by Toronto’s president of basketball operations, Bryan Colangelo on Thursday afternoon.
The Raps have scheduled the practice sessions to take place from October 1st to 6th at the Canada Games Centre.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to come to Halifax and to spread the word of Toronto Raptors basketball”, Colangelo said. “We’ve always said we’re not Toronto’s team, we’re Canada’s team.”
Toronto have been trying to make an impact for the last two years. Last season, under Dwane Casey, the new head coach, Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan started to deliver and if they can build on the momentum, the Raptors have a bright future – a fact Colangelo is well aware of.
“We’re in the middle of that rebuilding process now. We’re two years in. ... Now with an infusion of talent that’s coming this year, we’re calling it the acceleration process.”
The Raptors had shown intentions of returning to Halifax for the first time since 1997 a few years back, however due to un-availability of proper resources to host the team for an entire week, the plans were called off. But the $40.5 million investment made to open the Canada Games Centre has made the return possible.
After going through the training sessions in the week, the Raptors will play an intra-squad game at the Metro Centre. Even though the practice sessions are not open to the general public, loyal Raptors fans will be given a chance to view the game at the Metro.
As per the schedule for the 2012-2013 season announced by the NBA on Thursday, Raptors are set to take on the Indiana Pacers on Halloween at home and these practice session will definitely come in handy for the entire campaign.
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