RP Youth remains solid for Asia U-18

MANILA, Philippines - Youth Olympians Bobby Ray Parks and Michael Anthony Pate won’t be around but Nokia Pilipinas coach Eric Altamirano is confident the team will be competitive in the Fiba Asia U-18 Championship for Men in Sana’a, Yemen.

Parks, son and namesake of the seven-time PBA best import, and Pate, his teammate in the RP 3-on-3 team that placed ninth in the recent Singapore Youth Olympic Games, will skip the Sept. 22-Oct. 1 tourney to concentrate on their studies at National University and La Salle-Greenhills, respectively.

“They’re very good players but I think the other members of the team can cover for their absence,” said Altamirano during Monday night’s send off dinner for the squad tendered by sponsors Nokia Philippines and TAO Corp. at the Cafe of Champions of TAO Corporate Center in Makati City.

Without Parks and Pate, Nokia-RP will pin its hopes on team captain Kiefer Ravena, 73rd UAAP juniors MVP Kevin Ferrer, Gelo Alolino, Von Pessumal, Raphael Banal, YOG campaigners Cris Michael Tolomia and Jeron Teng, Roldan Sara, Russel Escoto, Kyle Neypes, Jeth Roy Rosario, Gwyne Capacio and Cederick Labing-isa.

Altamirano said the boys’ main strength in the meet that serves as qualifier for next year’s FIBA U19 world championship will be their cohesion. The team is made up of the core of the RP crew that placed fourth in the last year’s Fiba Asia U-16 meet.

“One thing going for us is that the core of this team has been together since last year. The jelling part is there. The confidence level is there,” said Altamirano, whose crew dominated the SEABA tilt in Myanmar last July.

Nokia-RP will leave for Yemen on Wednesday with Alolino of Perpetual set to follow on Friday and Ateneo’s Ravena and Pessumal and UST’s Ferrer to join their teammates on Sept. 21, hoping to make it in time for their first game on Sept. 22.

Ateneo and UST are engaged in a showdown for the UAAP crown.

Others who graced the send-off were TAO Corp. president Jun Sy, Nokia Philippines head of commercial operations Gerard Yasay, Pinoy’s Best Athletes Foundation’s Miles Roces, SBP executives Noli Eala and Bernie Atienza, and ex-RP youth standout RR Garcia, the new UAAP Seniors MVP.