Perth coach in NU camp

MANILA, Philippines - Perth Wildcats coach Rob Beveridge will preside in a five-day basketball camp in Xiamen designed for the National University varsity during the Bulldogs’ ongoing two-week China tour.

Beveridge arrived in Xiamen from Australia yesterday and will open boot camp today. He will be joined by Nike Elite strength and conditioning coach Blair O’Donovan who came in from the US. Beveridge and O’Donovan will accompany the Bulldogs on the return flight to Manila this Saturday and stay in town for three days. They go back to China for the Nike All-Asia camp in Guangzhou on June 6-10 for youth players from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, New Zealand and the Philippines.

NU coach Eric Altamirano brought the Bulldogs to Xiamen last week. In three exhibition games so far, the Bulldogs beat Ji Mei University and Xiamen University and held the Chinese Basketball Association pro club Fujian SBS Xunxin to a 71-71 standoff. NU will host the UAAP season starting July 14 and the Bulldogs’ goal is to crash the Final Four for the first time since 2001-02. NU has won only one UAAP basketball title in history and that came in 1954-55. Last season, the Bulldogs finished fifth in the standings with a 6-8 record.

With 6-4 Bobby Ray Parks and 6-7 Cameroon center Emmanuel (Jean) Mbe, the Bulldogs are tipped to make waves in the UAAP this year. Other mainstays in Altamirano’s roster are 6-3 Jeff Javillonar, 5-11 Gelo Alolino, 6-4 Dennice Villamor and 6-4 Kyle Neypes.

SM Prime Holdings president and NU chairman Hans Sy flew to Xiamen last Thursday evening and witnessed the Bulldogs’ game against Fujian SBS in Jin Jang City, about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Xiamen, the next day. Sy treated the team to dinner last Saturday then took a flight back to Manila yesterday.

Altamirano said the Bulldogs were set to tour Australia but chose to barnstorm Xiamen instead after receiving invitations to play exhibition games and participate in the made-to-order camp with Beveridge and O’Donovan.

Sy, who personally supervised the construction of the MOA Arena in record time, said he hopes the Bulldogs will be competitive this season with Parks adding 20 pounds of solid muscle and Mbe focused on playing his best basketball ever. Parks turned down offers to enroll in several NCAA Division I schools including Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, University of New Mexico and Memphis State for the chance to play with the Bulldogs.

NU has produced several outstanding players, including PBA cagers Danny Ildefonso, Lordy Tugade, Edwin Asoro and Jonathan Fernandez but made it only once to the Final Four since the ‘90s. NU was the UAAP host in 2002-03 and takes its turn again this season to coincide with the first-year opening of the MOA Arena where at least half of the UAAP games will be played.

Beveridge, 42, steered the Wildcats to the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) title in 2009-10, his first year on the job after taking over from former NBA guard Conner Henry. He piloted Perth to second place this past campaign. Beveridge was the Australian national under-20 team coach when Andrew Bogut, now playing in the NBA, starred at center.

O’Donovan has been involved in the conditioning programs of Gonzaga high school, Loyola University, pro hockey’s Washington Capitals and pro football’s Baltimore Ravens. He is a regular in the Nike All-Asia camp and has also worked at the Jordan Brand All-American Classic and the McDonald’s All-American High School game. O’Donovan has conducted conditioning camps in Italy, Germany, Australia, Taiwan and China.