New role for Arwind

For nine-time PBA champion and two-time PBA Finals MVP Arwind Santos, there is life after the PBA where he became a certified superstar over 16 seasons. When his NorthPort contract ran out last month, he fulfilled a long-time dream to play for his home province Pampanga and joined the Giant Lanterns of mentor/father figure Gov. Delta Pineda in the MPBL. That’s not all.  Santos, 42, was named commissioner of the National Basketball Championships Inter-High (NBCIH), a nationwide private school boys league organized by Jams Sports with a P1 million prize for the grand winner.

NBCIH is now on its elimination stage, starting out with 256 teams of high school players from 14 to 19. The first roll-out involved eight teams vying for the right to represent Pampanga. Three days of knockout games are scheduled in 15 other locations in Luzon and eight each in the Visayas and Mindanao. PBA chief statistician and historian Fidel Mangonon is helping out Santos with game operations in charge of referees, table officials, stats and media while also assisting Jams Sports on the basketball side of things. Mangonon said Santos’ role is tailor-fit for Spiderman. “Meant to be ito para sa kaniya,” said Mangonon. “Right now, mayroon pa siyang commitments to practice and play sa MPBL but right after the season, expect Arwind to be in every game hanggang matapos. Excited siya to inspire the boys kasi high school league ito. Perfect role model si Arwind.”

From the eliminations, 32 teams will emerge to remain in contention -- eight each from North Luzon (Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Bulacan, NCR, Nueva Ecija), South Luzon (Cavite, Rizal, Quezon, Batangas, Laguna, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur), Visayas (Bohol, Leyte, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Capiz, Aklan) and Mindanao (Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, Surigao, Zamboanga, Davao City, Iligan, Misamis). Pampanga, NCR and Bulacan legs are done with Pampanga Colleges, FEU Diliman (NCR) and La Consolacion University of the Philippines (Bulacan) advancing without a loss. Among FEU Diliman’s players are Willie Miller’s son Will, Rico Maierhofer’s son Tayshaun and Allan Salangsang’s son Liam. The Cavite leg will conclude on Nov. 4 then Laguna will be next.

The winners of each region (North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao) will play in the best-of-three semifinals and the survivors move on to battle in the best-of-five finals. The Final Four will be held in late February or early March. Mangonon said organizers are hoping to book the Smart Araneta Coliseum for the semifinals and finals. All games are shown live on Jamsap TV via the Jamsap Entertainment app which can be downloaded on Android gadgets and soon, on IoS devices, too.

“We’re hoping NBCIH can help young athletes to fulfill or jumpstart their dreams of earning college scholarships while pursuing their passion for the game,” said Jamsap CEO Jojo Flores. For his part, Santos said, “Lalo na dahil kaka-champion ng Gilas Pilipinas sa Asian Games, first time in 61 years, mas ma-iinspire ang ating mga kabataan para pag-igihan ang paglalaro at sana makatulong tayo sa kanilang mga pangarap sa pamamagitan ng tournament na ito.”