MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American guard Kyle Gamber is the latest recruit unveiled by the Ateneo Blue Eagles, as the 17-year-old was announced to have committed to the Katipunan squad on Saturday.
Gamber, 6'4", joins the growing list of Ateneo's recruits in the offseason like Albert Opena Jr., Paul Garcia, and Jared Brown.
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Yet to play his final year in high school, Gamber will be eligible to play for Ateneo in UAAP Season 86.
Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin raved about his latest addition in a press conference via Zoom Saturday night.
"The effort to get Kyle to become a Blue Eagle was something that was extremely important to us. We knew there were a lot of people interested, and we really expected to have to pull out all the stops with Kyle," Baldwin said.
"Kyle is a very much an all-purpose guard. He's a big guard at 6'4", pushing 6'5". He's a guy that is very comfortable with the ball in his hand, but he's also a guy who understands the game, he's got great court vision. He's a great shooter. He's a guy who understands what it means to make his teammates better because as a lead guard, he's gonna have the ball in his hands a lot," the tactician later added.
In his 2021-22 season with Polytech High School in Woodside, Delaware, Gamber normed 30 points, five rebounds, two assists, and 1.5 assists in two outings.
He traces his roots to Cagayan De Oro, where his parents grew up.
"I always knew that even before I talked to Coach Tab, I knew I wanted to choose Ateneo. But talking to him made me further my interest because he just explained the environment, the people at Ateneo," Gamber said.
"I felt that it was the perfect fit for me. I liked their system," he continued.
Apart from beefing up the next generation of Blue Eagles, Gamber has also been pegged as a prospect for Gilas, particularly in the youth teams.
Though having applied for his Philippine passport before he turned 16, he was unable to get his hands on it until after his 16th birthday and there remains a gray area if Gamber would be eligible to play as a local.
Per Baldwin, they have already been in contact with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to hopefully give Gamber local status and have him suit up for the Gilas U18 team.
"There's a gray area there now where SBP is in discussion with FIBA, and we're hopeful that Kyle is granted local status. If he is, we're expecting Kyle to be here relatively soon to join the U-18," Baldwin said.