Fil-foreign prospects start chasing Philippine basketball dream

MANILA, Philippines — Ten Filipino-foreign prospects stood out among a field of 55 colleagues during last Sunday’s Global Hoops Showcase at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong City.

CJ Aguilar (Blizzards North Calgary Alberta), Matthew Alcaraz (Batang Europa), Kael Fermin (Camp David), Jamil Koshin (Homegrown Australia), Rafael Manzano (FilCom Italy), Jakobi Matalabos (Top Flight Canada), Jacob Oreta (Top Flight Sports Canada), Christian Pano (Crossover Canada), Bas Reefman (FilCom Italy), and Kaden Valdez (Crossover Canada) were named as Top International Prospects by the panel of coaches who conducted the skills combine and scrimmages.

All prospects are hoping to find a roster spot in any of the local colleges and universities as they pursue their basketball dream.

Fermin, a 16-year old wing player from New Zealand, was named Dr. Dunk for owning the highest vertical leap among the field.

The 5-foot-10 19-year old Pano’s speed saw him bag the Flash Award, while the 17-year-old Vancouver-born Matalabos was named “Mr. All-Around” for his variety of skills.

“For us, to get a chance for a college scholarship, or even an opportunity to play for the national team or in the PBA or in Asia is a dream,” bared Pano. “That would really help our families.”

The skills combine kicked off the inaugural Global Hoops International Showcase, where top prospects from eight countries from North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East were tested for their speed, leaping ability, hand-eye coordination and lateral movement by the group of Emman Papa, who conducts the combine for the Philippine Basketball Association.

Two scrimmages were held with some coaches from the UAAP and NCAA as well as Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Executive Director Erika Dy in attendance.

“This international showcase is our way of maximizing our visit to the Philippines aside from our participation in the NBTC,” explained Crossover Canada’s Mike Cruz, who is one of the guiding forces of Global Hoops International Showcase.

“This is giving these kids not only a unique and great experience, but also preparing them on their basketball journey.”

Aside from the skills combine, a group of 20-Filipino basketball clubs from Global Hoops Showcase will compete in a mini-tournament prior to the NBTC. The matches will be held at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center beginning Monday, March 24, and will end the day before the NBTC tips off later this week.

“We hope the program that we put together for the Global Hoops teams will prepare them for the grind ahead,” added Nap Santos, coach of Top Flight Sports and who played for Letran before. “Global hoops is our commitment to help kids in their basketball journey.”

Added Gatorade’s Ton Gatmaitan, “For over a decade now, Gatorade has been highly supportive of our local basketball leagues as well as our national teams. We believe that this is a very good program by Global Hoops because this greatly improves the quality of Philippine basketball.”

Sponsors for the Global Hoops International Showcase include Smart Sports and Gatorade.