10 boys, 5 girls top 2014 Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA national camp

MANILA, Philippines – Five Manilans, three Ilonggos and two Cebuanos took the top ten slots for boys in the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Philippines 2014 presented by Alaska, while five girls – three from Manila, one from Cebu and one from Iloilo – formed the first batch of Jr. WNBA All Stars in the NBA’s international developmental basketball program held at SM Mall of Asia Music Hall on Sunday.

After three days of basketball boot camp at the PICC Forum and the SM MOA Music Hall, Paul Matthew Manalang, Jan Cyril Narvasa, Samjosef Belangel, Luigi Velasco and Rhayyan Amsali from the Manila Regional Selection Camp; John Richard Gan, Vince Leo Dolendo and David Leandro Umadhay from the Iloilo Regional Selection Camp and Andrew Vincent Velasco and Jethro Rocamora from the Cebu Regional Selection Camp bested the competition and emerged as this year’s Jr. NBA All-Stars.

Five girls – Arielle Marie Lanot, Kreecie Bettina Binaohan and Roxanne Salvador from the Manila Regional Selection Camp, Karl Ann Pingol from the Iloilo Regional Selection Camp and Mary Jean Pascual from the Cebu Regional Selection Camp – joined the ten boys in sharing the honor reserved for players aged 10-14 who exhibited a superior skills set and best embodied the Jr. NBA S.T.A.R. values of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, a positive Attitude and Respect.

The ten young male cagers and five girls will be rewarded with an authentic once in a lifetime NBA experience and the chance to travel abroad – all expenses paid -- to play against a counterpart Jr. NBA Team later this year.

The training camp was jointly conducted by WNBA Legend Tina Thompson, Utah Jazz player Gordon Hayward, Senior Director of Basketball Operations of NBA Asia Sefu Bernard, Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA coaches Chris Sumner, Jojo Lastimosa, Melissa Jacob, Ish Tiu, Alaska coaches and volunteer coaches who were candidates for this year’s Coach of the Year Awards.

Coach Cliff Andy Tesocan of Tacloban, Leyte was selected as the 2014 Jr. NBA Coach of the Year and Coach Pia Dysangco of Manila was named as the first ever female Coach of the Year for having grown the sport of basketball in the Philippines while promoting the Jr. NBA S.T.A.R. values of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, a positive Attitude and Respect to young basketball athletes.

A much-awaited event highlight was the second Jr. NBA All-Star Alumni Game contested by Team Gordon and Team Tina, with the two NBA talents acting as head coaches of the two teams. Team Gordon won, 62-57, on the heroics of 2010 All-Star Henry Asilum who topscored with 17 points, ably aided by Ichi Altamirano and Paul Dagunan, both from Jr. NBA Batch 2012. Team Tina led by as much as 11 points at 45-34, but the team effort of Team Gordon carried it through. The game was last deadlocked at 53-all, with 5:53 to play.

The following players received special awards for their outstanding achievements in the National Training Camp : Lyniel Padilla of Cebu and David Umadhay of Iloilo, Alaska Sportsmanship Award; Kristine Cayabyab of Dagupan and Wayne Kirby Bersaluna of Cebu, Basketball TV Rising Star Award; Luisa Martina de la Paz of Iloilo and John Paul Gates of Manila, Gatorade Hustle Award; and Mary Jean Pascual of Cebu and Samjosef Belangel of Bacolod, Phoenix Petroleum All Star Player of the Game. Rhayyan Amsali and Christiana Dimaunahan of Manila were the 2014 Alaska Youth Ambassadors, while Roxanne Salvador and Luigi Velasco, both from Manila, were this year’s Jr. WNBA and Jr. NBA Most Valuable Players, respectively.

The top ten boys were culled from a group of 50 junior players, while the top five girls were selected from 24 female ballers aged 10-14 who topped their respective regional selection camps in Surigao, Iloilo, Cebu, Dagupan, Puerto Princesa, Manila and the Alaska Power CampCagayan de Oro, Pampanga and Manila in March this year.

Three days of basketball drills, skills tests, stamina challenges, competitive games and fun games tested the young cagers’ physical, mental, emotional and spiritual strengths.

Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA is presented by Alaska. Gatorade and Phoenix Petroleum are Official Partners, while KFC and Spalding are Supporting Partners. The SM Mall of Asia and SM Cinemas are the Official Venues for Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA. Official NBA Broadcasters are Basketball TV, NBA Premium TV and ABS-CBN Sports. Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA is also supported by the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP).