Jollo Go stunned over selection for NBA’s BWB camp

MANILA, Philippines – Former Batang Gilas star Jollo Go still couldn’t believe that he is flying to New York to attend the first ever NBA Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in conjunction with the NBA All- Star.

Go, a standout from Hope Christian High School, was the lone Filipino player selected as one of the 39 campers aged 16-18 from FIBA Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe.

 “Sobrang saya lang po and sobrang thankful kay God kasi sa dami po namin sa team, ako po yung napiling player. Hindi ko po alam kung bakit pero sobrang saya po talaga,” an overwhelmed Go told Philstar.com/NBA Philippines before he flew to New York on board Nippon Air on Thursday.

He was accompanied by his cousin Marvine Molina, who will serve as his guardian throughout the trip.

Go was still in disbelief that he was picked to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from NBA players and coaches and attend the All Star Week festivities.

“My mom first learned about the news. ‘Nung una hindi po niya sinabi sa akin agad. Tinawagan lang niya ako tapos pinapauwi. Nagtataka ako kung bakit kasi katatapos lang ng practice namin. Pag-uwi ko dun niya sinabi. Akala ko pinagti-trip-an lang nila ako. Then pinabasa sa akin yung invitation letter ng NBA at nag-post po yung ate ko (in social media),” Go recounted. 

The 17-year-old shooting guard starred for the Batang Gilas youth national team that made history by finishing second in the FIBA Asia U16 Basketball Championship that qualified them to play in the FIBA U17 World Cup for the first time.

Go caught the FIBA World’s attention when he hit his tournament-best 27 points on a 6-of-13 3-point shooting in a gutsy effort against the much taller Argentina youth team in Dubai last year.

The 5-foot-10 shooter, who is already committed to play for the De La Salle Green Archers in college, is excited to attend the camp, which includes watching the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, State Farm NBA All-Star Saturday Night, and the 64th NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden.     

“Excited po sobra kasi bagong challenge ulit po for me and para po ma-test po ulit kung hanggang saan po yung kaya ko sa paglalaro ng basketball. Hopefully po, maging okay naman po yung magiging camp ko dun,” Go said.

The chosen cagers will train with select NBA and FIBA players and coaches, including Danilo Gallinari (Denver Nuggets; Italy; BWB Europe 2003), Gorgui Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves; Senegal; BWB Africa 2009), Steven Adams (Oklahoma City Thunder; New Zealand), and Tiago Splitter (San Antonio Spurs; Brazil).

Go will join the other 38 campers from Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mali, New Zealand, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Senegal, South Africa, Spain and Tunisia in working on movement efficiency and athletic performance training, positional skill work, 5-on-5 games, and shooting/skill competitions conducted by NBA personnel.

Go is looking forward for the rare opportunity to learn from accomplished NBA players and coaches and his fellow campers from around the world to improve his game.  

"Para sa akin, nilo-look forward ko yung makikita ko po yung mga All-Stars ng NBA and ung pag-train po nila sa amin at mga magagaling na coaches and yung mga style po nila maglaro. For sure, yung mga nandun po di lang basta-basta na mga players around the world so maging competitive po kasi siyempre po magagaling po mga nandun and malalaki po. And I'll take this opportunity as an advantage and just try to absorb everything as much as I can," he said.

The daily shooting competitions will see campers divided into four regional teams, with the winning region crowned “shooting champion” at the conclusion of the camp. An overall BWB Global Camp MVP will also be named at the conclusion of the camp.

Since its inception in 2001, the NBA and FIBA have staged 39 BWB camps in 22 cities across 19 countries on five continents. More than 150 current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players have joined nearly 140 NBA team personnel from all 30 NBA teams to support BWB all over the world.

This marks the first time that the NBA BWB camp will be held in the US and the league plans to make this an annual All-Star tradition.