RP-Lhuillier pool undergoes team-building exercises

It is teambuilding time for the RP five.

After more than three months of searching for new talents that would compose the RP-Cebuana Lhuillier training pool and took the coaching staff led by Dong Vergeire and Boysie Zamar all over the country, the players and the coaching staff underwent a three- day teambuilding activity recently to set the team vision and mission.

And the players, composed mostly of unknown talents from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, came out ready to do what it takes to achieve the country’s dream of reviving lost glory in the sport where the Philippines once lorded it over the field, given the time and international training.

This was the assessment of Vergeire, who admitted that he had seen better basketball talents but went with attitude more than skills, and choosing players who would literally die playing for flag and country and realizing the players realize their personal dream.

"With what we saw at the teambuilding we had, all the players gave their commitment to the team and this is what we need, a long term win-win partnership between the players and the team," said Vergeire.

Unfortunately, not all the players taken in the pool made it to the teambuilding like SEA games holdover Ricky Calimag, still in the United States, some provincial players and those Manila-based players with live contracts with PBL or school teams like Nino Canaleta, Don Villamin, and Mark Abadia.

Those who attended the teambuilding conducted by Lito Cinco as workshop facilitator, were Celino Cruz, Dennis Madrid, and Richie Melencio, and were joined by Davao City’s 6’9 players Samigue Eman, and Eder John Saldua, Cagayan de Oro’s Ricmar Pertubos, Baguio’s Sammy Ayodele Jr., Cebuanos Jerry Cavan, Jay-R Gerilla, Rainward Ramos, and Wilbert Sayson, and Pangasinan’s Ephraim Torio. Developmental player Miko Pacheco was also invited to join.

Among the fun and adventure-filled events the group did at la Corona, all aimed at building and developing values among the players, were the team wall, blind man’s trail, low V, tension traverse, spider’s web, tire pole, orienteering, and the more exciting high elements like the slide for life, multi-line traverse, high Y, and the dreaded catwalk, all self-confidence builder events, according to Cinco.

"We are concerned not just will skills but more with the attitude of the players, and as they shared at the end of the teambuilding, they made a lot of realizations as to what makes a team work, values like trust, communication, commitment, discipline, cooperation, acceptance of roles and people, hard work, honesty, open mind, and many others, all of which will help them as they develop their playing skills in turn, knowing one another and the comfortability that goes with it was also realized there," said Zamar.

Assistant team manager Danny Francisco, representing Jean Henru Lhuillier also dropped by to visit the team bankrolled by Cebuana Lhuillier and reiterated Lhuillier’s commitment to support the team and the belief in the long team program worked out between the BAP and Lhuillier’s company.

And Lhuillier himself completed the getting to know you process by hosting a dinner get together at the Cebuana Lhuillier corporate office upon the team’s return to Manila from the teambuilding activity, and he must have liked what he saw as Lhuillier was smiling through the night.

Now it is the player’s turn to give back and show they have the right to be with the national team.