Ato to coach NCAA team in Lina caging

Multi-titled basketball mentor Ato Badolato will call the shots for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) selection that will take part in the Bert Lina-Six Foot Junior Basketball Cup, which is slated to begin on Jan. 28.

Badolato, who developed the likes of Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, Macky de Joya, Ren-Ren Ritualo to stardom, has accepted to coach a tall, fast and running NCAA selection that will battle seven other quintets from the various collegiate leagues.

As its name implies, the six-footers league is limited only to junior players, aged 18-and-under, who stand six-foot-and-above.

"This is a pioneering league that deserves everybody’s support," said Badolato, a many-time champion coach of the San Beda Red Cubs.

"I believe that we can produce six-foot-and-above point guards through this program, which is a brainchild of FedEx chairman Bert Lina," Badolato added.

Lina, a staunch supporter of the Philippine youth basketball team, has always believed that tall Filipino players, preferably those standing six-foot-and-above, must be trained as point guards to make them versatile cagers.

"A 6-foot-5 guard, who can shift to the no. 2, 3, 4 and 5 spots with relative ease will be our ultimate weapon in our quest for Asian basketball supremacy," said Lina.

Three venues, namely Lyceum, University of Sto. Tomas and the San Sebastian College gyms, are being tapped to host the three-weeklong basketball championships.

Interested and qualified junior players can contact coach Ching Ching Marcelino at tel. No. 861-4092 or through Steven of FedEx at 0917-8376796 for more details. Or they can personally drop by at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum from 6 to 8 p.m. and look for coach Marcelino.

The NCAA lineup: Clifford Arao (born 1984, 6-5, San Beda); Mark Tayer (1984, 6-1, UPHR); Oliver John Cua (1985, 6-1, Letran); Arthur Walsham (6-5, 1984, Letran); Pablo Sebastian Espiritu (6-2, 1984, St. Benilde); Mark Anthony Borboran (1984, 6-3, Jose Rizal U); Jervy del Rosario (6-3, 1985, Mapua); Michael Galinato (6-4, 1986, Mapua); Aaron Umlas (6-2, 1987, PCU); Jayfelson Agbayani (6-2, 1984, SBC); Miko Ortega (6-1, 1986, SBC); Raymond Aguilar (6-3, 1985, San Sebastian).