Alvin’s new role

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) legend and four-time MVP Alvin Patrimonio, known as Captain Lionheart, is as busy as ever.

After retiring from active duty, Patrimonio was appointed the Tender Juicy Hot Dogs team manager. That means he not only has to attend all the team‚s practices and games but also look after a lot of the Hot Dogs‚ offcourt activities.

And as if that’s not enough for a full plate, Patrimonio recently agreed to serve as Commissioner of the upcoming Nike Summer League (NSL).

Patrimonio said he’s excited to take on the new responsibility particularly as the NSL is geared for players in the 13 to 17 age bracket. Promoting sports among the youth is a high priority for Patrimonio whose own children are age-group tennis champions.

For years, Patrimonio has been Nike‚s prime local endorser. Nike Sports Marketing Manager Auty Villarama described him as the perfect role model for an athlete.

"He’s a gentleman on and off the court," said Villarama. "And he’s a legitimate superstar. He’s like a Michael Jordan in that even after Alvin retired, he remains a Nike athlete because of what he stands for."

Villarama said the NSL is a major breakthrough in Nike’s continuing campaign to provide the youth with a path to stardom.

"The NSL is all about championing the dream of young kids to become the best they can be, to become basketball stars," he said. "We’re hoping to discover untapped talents and give kids the confidence they need to go to the next level. We want them to improve their individual skills. There will be school scouts looking at the players and we expect the best athletes to be offered scholarships."

Villarama said Nike will also pick NSL standouts to attend the annual week-long All-Asia camp in Beijing this June.

"Nike took high school players Jai Reyes and Rogener Menor to the camp last year and they gained a lot from the experience," noted Villarama. "The same opportunity will be open to the top NSL players this year. Yao Ming was a product of this camp years ago. The camp features a mini-tournament and Nike brings in NBA coaches, scouts and sometimes players to conduct clinics."

There are 20 teams in the NSL. Player applications started to pour in last month. Tryouts of all registrants–the count is about 2,000–began last Friday and end today. Drafting will take place tomorrow. Patrimonio and tournament director Tanny Gonzalez will supervise the drafting exercise.

After lineups are finalized, the teams will begin practices on Tuesday. The league opens on April 23. The eliminations will take 40 games to finish with the 20 teams split into four groups of five. Five teams will qualify for the quarterfinals and four, for the semifinals. The championship game will be a knockout affair on May 21.

Nike athletes and endorsers will act as managers for each team.

Here‚s the list of the 20 NSL with their coaches and managers:

Revolution (coach Ronald Almeda, manager Leo Canuday). Swoosh (Eric Samson, Olsen Racela). Force (Ronnie Cahanding, Willie Miller). Flight (Henry Subido, Arwind Santos). Air Max (Allen Umali, Alfrancis Chua). Hyperflight (Terence Baclig, Alex Compton). Uptempo (Jun Golosinda, Mark Isip). AF1 (Wally So, Koy Banal). Zoom Air (Bong Pineda, Paul Artadi). Xplosive (Bonnie Tan, Mark Cardona).

Jumpman (Mon Amador, John Arigo). Two3 (Nomer Isla, Anthony Washington). Nike Shox (Bong Go, Larry Fonacier). Posite (Victor Maneclang, Ronjay Enrile). Huarache (Enrico Villanueva, Jeffrey Cariaso). Nike Impax (Bong Tumapat, Dennis Miranda). Ultraposite (Elmer Latonio, L. A. Tenorio). Ndestrukt (Diego Padua, Ronald Tubid). Zoom Generation (Bing Victoria, J. V. Casio). Total Max (Benjie Cinco, Kenneth Bono).

Villarama said the NSL is a league of firsts.

"It’s the first local league to choose 20 top coaches with experience in coaching university teams, village teams, PBL or PBA teams," he continued. "A prime example is coach Bong Go. Coaches will pick players from an open lineup. It‚s the first time ever a drafting will be conducted at this age level. The MVP wins an automatic ticket to attend the All-Asia camp in Beijing. And an NBA coach is coming to conduct clinics for the NSL."

Villarama said Denver Nuggets assistant coach for player development Jarinn Akana, whose sister is married to former Talk N‚ Text cager Kahi Villa, is definitely arriving to conduct a mini-camp on offense and defense. Akana will be in town from May 18 to 21.

Akana, 34, was in the Dallas Mavericks staff before joining the Nuggets. He is Denver‚s scout for Asia and was coach Wang Fei’s assistant on the Chinese national team that competed at the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis. A former University of Hawaii star guard, Akana speaks fluent Mandarin.

No doubt, the NSL is bound to make an impact as it sets the stage for young hopefuls to reach for the stars and someday fulfill their dreams of becoming Nike athletes.