Over 600 boys and girls from South Luzon came out to showcase their basketball skills as Jr. NBA Philippines 2017 presented by Alaska staged its second Regional Selection Camp February 25-26 at Manuel S. Enverga University in Lucena City.
After two days of intense training and scrimmages, eight boys – Jeryk Dwight Bait, 14, of Batangas Eastern College; Marc Harold de Guzman, 13, of St. Francis National High School; Nygel Gonzales, 13, of De La Salle Lipa; Raphael Hutamares, 13, of Maryhill College; Carlos Noel Panganiban, 14 and Troy Gerard Umayao, 13, of International School for Better Beginnings, Lucena; Wrench Mason Roquid, 13, of University of Perpetual Help System-Laguna, and Raphael Tolentino, 12, of Metro Lucena Integrated Learning School – topped the boys division. Five girls – Fatima Irish Alpay, 13, of Luis Palad National High School; Kristin Aira Carmona, 12, of Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation; Gracey Aine de Mesa, 13, of Lucena City National High School; Jezza Oabel, 13, of University of Perpetual Help System-Laguna, and Nicole Rosaldo, 12, of Tayabas West Central School – were selected to progress to the next stage of the Jr. NBA program.
Jr. WNBA 2016 Coach of the Year Ewon Arayi instructs girls how to protect the ball while dribbling.
The 13 young athletes produced strong performances during the skills stations and scrimmages as well as embodied the Jr. NBA core S.T.A.R. values of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, a positive Attitude and Respect throughout the camp. The young players will represent South Luzon in the Jr. NBA Philippines National Training Camp where they will go up against top players from other Regional Selection Camps on May 11-14, 2017. The best players in the NTC – eight boys and eight girls – will be named the Jr. NBA Philippines 2017 All-Stars who will participate in an overseas NBA experience later this year.
Boys and girls aged 10-14 who want to join the free youth basketball program can still participate in the two remaining Regional Selection Camps in Cebu on March 11-12 and Manila on April 1-2. Interested participants can register at www.jrnba.asia/philippines, where the program terms and conditions can be found.
For more information, fans can follow Jr. NBA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jrnbaphilippines. For all things NBA, fans can visit www.nba.com, like the NBA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/philsnba and follow www.twitter.com/nba_philippines on Twitter.
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