Rise at The Tenement

Nike is taking its Rise program a step up towards the ultimate goal of inspiring and enabling the youth to live the dream of realizing their basketball potential. The initial Rise step was a six-week training program supervised by five-time PBA coach of the year Chot Reyes for 24 wide-eyed kids who survived tryouts involving close to 1,000 participants in the 12 to 21 age group in Dagupan, Manila, Davao and Cebu. That step brought the previously undiscovered kids onto a national stage where an audience of 30 million tuned in to TV5’s reality docu-series and 70 million connected on social media.

The other day, Nike Philippines country marketing manager Patrick Reyes announced the next step in the Rise platform whose slogan is “Rise Beyond Belief.” Reyes said “We Rise” will bring at least 75 kids in the 6 to 19 age group from the 1,000 families living in The Tenement, a seven-storey building block in West Bicutan, Taguig, to participate in a six-month basketball training course broken down into the clinic, camp and league levels.

Reyes has mobilized a team of seven coaches led by Ruben Lanot to conduct the course for about four hours every Saturday starting this month until May. Lanot said he will pick at least six assistants from The Tenement to provide continuity in training the kids during the week.

The Tenement was where NBA stars LeBron James, Paul George and Jordan Clarkson visited during their recent Manila tours. James, in particular, was blown away by the inner-city atmosphere. In Akron where James grew up, he lived under similar conditions in a poor and crowded environment. James rose from the surroundings of despair to become the greatest basketball player on the planet and his example is the message that Nike hopes to inspire the kids from The Tenement.

When Reyes launched “We Rise” at The Tenement, he unveiled a marker showing James’ hand imprint. It’s imbedded on the wall facing the concrete basketball court that’s in the middle of the four-sided block. It’s a reminder not only of James’ visit but also that nothing is impossible in living your dream. With Reyes at the launch was rapper extraordinaire and grassroots basketball advocate Mike Olave, also known as Mike Swift.  Olave or Swift, 35, was born in Lipa and left for the US when he was eight. He was raised in the Brooklyn projects where basketball is a way of life and to some, an escape from life. Swift made a name for himself as a rapper in the East Coast and in 2004, came back to Manila to re-establish roots.

In 2013, Swift organized a rap show at the Araneta Coliseum as an independent promoter. About 4,000 fans attended but what Swift earned from ticket sales and sponsorships was far from covering his overhead and expenses. He lost his shirt and pants in the venture.

“Instead of sulking, I took my camera and started to take pictures of basketball courts all around the country as my outlet,” said Swift. “I’ve gone all over the US and nothing beats how we love basketball with a passion. Basketball is in my heart. I grew up in the Brooklyn projects like Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair so I figured why not go to places like The Tenement and inspire kids to become the best they can be through basketball. It’s my way of giving back. I’m busy hosting and rapping for a living but I’ll always make time for the guys at The Tenement.”

It was Swift who brought Reyes to The Tenement and eventually, the NBA stars. “Who would’ve imagined LeBron, Paul George and Clarkson coming to visit The Tenement?” said Swift. “If those guys can come to The Tenement, hey, anything is possible.”

Reyes said Nike is all about inspiration and innovation. “We’re not an events company,” he said. “We’re a brand that’s committed to inspire athletes to excel. Athletes can be anyone with a body, no matter the age or playing ability. At The Tenement, we want to celebrate basketball. The court at The Tenement is the heart of the people’s lives. It’s where they hold parties, festivals and gatherings. So we’re employing that same platform to inspire kids to play the game we and they love. We want to inspire and enable.”

Lanot, 33, has worked with his band of coaches for three years now. He was once a UST varsity Team B player and his love for the game has brought him to teach kids how to play it right through a grassroots development program called Hoop Dreams.  His team is made up of FEU skills and conditioning assistant coach Ryan Villena, Good Shepherd Cathedral high school assistant coach Louie Bautista, former Jr. NBA assistant coach Jon Diokno, Moderne Culinaire Academy physical education teacher and UP graduate Vic Domingo, former UP varsity player Arvin Braganza and Alaska Basketball Power Camp and Slam Philippines assistant coach Rafael Galos.

The first phase of the program will involve identifying at least 25 kids in the 6 to 9 age group for the beginners division and at least 50 in the 10 to 14 age group for the intermediate division. Another age group from 15 to 19 may be formed for the advance level. The participants will go through three stages – a clinic focused on teaching fundamentals, a camp dedicated to developing skills and a league where the participants play against teams from neighboring barangays or communities. Lanot said from the initial batch of at least 75 for the clinic stage, the pool will be trimmed to 30 to 45 for the camp stage and finally, to two teams of 12 for the league stage.