Manila kids join NBA Jr national camp

MANILA, Philippines - Nineteen young players – 16 from Metro Manila and one each from Bulacan, Rizal and  Laguna – emerged the best of the Manila Regional Selection Camp of the Jr. NBA Philippines 2013 held at the Aquinas Gym in San Juan on April 14.

The Manila camp is the last tryout for this year’s Jr. NBA Program which culminates with the national training camp where the top 50 players from the regional selection camps in the various regions and the Alaska Power Camp will be trained.

Kids 10-14 years old from Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bacolod, Iligan and Palawan joined the Manila tryouts.

The top 40 players with the best scores on the vital tests, skills stations and fitness challenges returned on Day 2. The top 19 from the pool of 40 will move on to the national training camp.  

The 19 kids are Rodney Manuel and Nikolai Azurin from San Juan, Tyler Tio and Gian Mamuyac (Mandaluyong), Miguel Fortuna, Derrick Caalaman and Kenneth Maneze (Parañaque), Vince Ferrer, Marco Sario and Luigi Velasco (Makati), Bryeo Bunyi and Benedict Cruz (Manila), Paolo Rivero (Pasig), Christian Anterola (Las Piñas), Kyle Ong (Quezon City), Juan Paolo Garcia (Valenzuela), Bryan Lina (Antipolo), Maverick Barles (Bulacan) and Samuel Abuhijleh (Laguna).

Manila has 19 finalists because only six players were chosen from Dagupan and five from Lucena City, while Davao yielded 10 players and the Alaska Power Camp another 10.

The Manila finalists were chosen by the Jr. NBA evaluation committee headed by Jr. NBA head coach Sefu Bernard, Senior Director of Basketball Operations of NBA Asia and PBA Legend Jojo Lastimosa of the Alaska Power Camp. Their all-around basketball skills and how they exhibited the Jr. NBA’s core S.T.A.R. values of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, (a positive) Attitude and Respect.

“I had heard so much about the quality and calibre of player in Manila, that it was great to experience it in person after some competitive selection camps in Dagupan, Davao and Lucena.  This is bound to be one of the toughest selections that our committee will have to make in the history of the Jr. NBA program in the Philippines, said Coach Sefu Bernard.

The National Training Camp will be held at the UP Diliman Gym on April 26 and 27 and at the SM Mall of Asia on April 28.  All the best players from each region will pit skills and the ways in which they express the STAR values during the three-day boot camp that will prepare them to be exceptional athletes and total persons on and off the court. The 10 best performers selected in the National Training Camp will be this year’s Jr. NBA Philippines All Star Team who will be rewarded with a trip abroad for an authentic NBA experience and the chance to play with a counterpart youth team abroad. 

NBA Legend Muggsy Bogues will arrive in Manila for the National Training Camp and join the coaching staff of the Jr. NBA.

Official partners include the NBA’s official sports drink, Gatorade, Unilever’s flagship brands Rexona and Master and new partner, Phoenix Petroleum. Returning as supporting partners are KFC and Spalding.

Official NBA broadcasters are Basketball TV, NBA Premium TV and Studio 23.

Jr. NBA is also supported by the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP).