Starting ’em young

LOS ANGELES — Filipinos here in California are no different from Filipinos in the Philippines, when it comes to their love for the game of basketball. This passion for hoops is the driving force behind Hooptown International, a Filipino-American basketball organization aimed at developing and honing Fil-Am players in the sport.

"To be honest, we did this because we wanted to promote Filipino players," says coach Jeff Berina, director of Basketball Operations for Hooptown International.

A self-confessed basketball fanatic, Berina played for Ateneo de Naga during his high school days. In 1973, he migrated to the States and had to give up his dreams of playing pro ball in Manila. He now works as an engineer for Raypheon Systems Co. in El Segundo, California. Despite his busy schedule, he makes it a point to set aside time for basketball and for helping young basketball enthusiasts score in the mainstream sports scene.

"It started with Filipino players being promoted to the collegiate level. We haven’t done that. Nobody has done that," says Berina. He adds that the success rate of kids who try out for different high school teams after going through Hooptown training is high. Now they’re working on pushing the rewards all the way to the collegiate level.

But what was originally designed only for Filipino-American ballers has now grown to include basketball hopefuls of different nationalities.

"I play for our basketball team and they said this camp was good. So I figured I’d try it out. And so far, I like it," says 14-year-old Louis Harris, one of the many African-Americans who enrolled in this year’s program.

This year, Hooptown’s Filipino coaching staff assisted about 50 participants, a group that even included young girls who love to play the game. Through the years, the group has also earned the trust of parents who enroll their kids to the yearly hoopfest.

"This is actually my second kid already in the camp," explains Greg Bichara. He can also relate to the Filipinos love affair with basketball, having played for the De La Salle Archers some years back. "I have another kid who started when he was 10. Now he’s a high school player."

Aside from the camp, Hooptown International, a member of the American Athletics Union (AAU), also organizes a traveling team to compete with other members of the AAU. For the next three Sundays, Hooptown will be conducting youth basketball tryouts for national competitions. The team will start seeing action in October and will travel around different counties in California, including Santa Barbara, Riverside and others.

Some successful participants of the camp have moved on to play for different colleges here in America. One of them is Alex Cabagnot who’s now a starting pointguard for the University of Hilo, a Division II school in Hawaii. He also played for Eagle Rock High School, the same grounds that produced Ginebra Gin King Mark Caguioa.

Another one is Christian Gopez who plays for CalSatate Maritime. He also helps out at the yearly camp.

Both Cabagnot and Gopez are looking to enter the PBL Draft this year, en route to their final destination — the PBA. Gopez says going through training at the Hooptown International basketball camp has largely helped him in his basketball career. Now he assists the organizers of Hooptown and helps out whenever he has time.

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