RP-wide search for tall cagers urged

Basketball godfather Bert Lina yesterday enjoined the regional directors of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) to intensify their search for tall basketball players, who can be molded into versatile cagers for national team consumption.

Lina, the BAP’s vice president for Luzon, is organizing the first ever Six- Foot Junior Basketball Cup, which he hopes will discover tall and agile players, who are flexible enough to play all positions in basketball, from the point to the slot.

"This has been a dream of mine — to be able to produce a 6-foot-5 guard, who can shift to the No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 spots with relative ease. This prototype of a player will be our ultimate weapon in our quest for Asian basketball supremacy," said Lina.

As its name implies, the six-footer league, which begins on Feb. 10 at the Lyceum Gymnasium, is limited only to junior players, aged 18-and-under, who stand six-foot-and-above.

Regional directors can be contacted through the BAP Manila office at tel. No. 524-2522.

They are Lito Alvarez (NCR), Luis Samson Jr. (Region I), Marius de Guzman (II), Rafael Angeles (III), Johnny Tam (IV), Julian Lavadia Jr. (V), Emmanuel Yap (VI), Atty. Dodong Aquino (VII), Dr. Lucresio Calo (VIII), Jose Bernad Jr. (IX), Rico Medina Jr. (X), Regino Cua (XI), Miguel Jacalan (XII), Atty. Edgar Avila (CAR) and Douglas Mosquito Sr. (Caraga).

"The BAP is 100 percent behind this noble, grassroots endeavor," said BAP president Quinteliano "Tiny" Literal.

Interested and qualified junior players can also 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. daily and look for 0coach Marcelino.

Six ballclubs from the Philippine Basketball Association, namely Coca-Cola, Ginebra, Talk N Text, Sta. Lucia Realty, Shell and FedEx have already adopted all the six teams in the tournament.

Organizers of the championship are looking at two possible TV networks to air the games live, namely NBN 4 and Viva-Vintage Sports.