Cebu picks reps to training camp ahead of Jr NBA and Jr WNBA

CEBU CITY, Philippines – With only one name left on the list, 13-year-old Daphne Nardo, a point guard of a girls basketball team in Cebu City, shed tears.

This was because her jersey number was called to complete Cebu’s representatives to the National Training Camp (NTC) for the Jr NBA and Jr WNBA presented by Alaska. It followed the second Regional Selection Camp held over the weekend at the Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC).

Nardo will join two of her teammates from Abellana National School (ANS) – Darliene Ragasajo and Florence Jill Talas, both 13 – to the NTC in Manila from April 22 to 24. 

The girls will have a busy summer as they have also been chosen to be part of the girls basketball team of the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) at the  2016 Palarong Pambansa in Albay from April 10 to 16.

The 5-foot-1 Nardo, who has been playing basketball since she was 6, said she didn’t expect to be picked – she only joined the selection for the experience.

It wasn’t only a dream-come-true for the teenager but for her father, Jude, as well.

“Dream come true jud  (It is really a dream come true),” the older Nardo repeatedly said. 

It will be Nardo’s and Ragasajo’s first time to be selected for the NTC. They will get a chance to become members of the Jr NBA and Jr WNBA All-Star team and travel abroad to experience the NBA, along with the All-Star teams from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Last year, the All-Stars went to China where they met Yao Ming and watched the NBA Global Games in Shenzhen, featuring the Charlotte Hornets and the LA Clippers. The destination for this year’s All-Stars is yet to be announced.

Talas, whose father is also a basketball coach, really worked hard and aimed to be selected because two years ago, she was made a reserve in the regional selection also held in Cebu City.

Organizers normally pick reserves in case those selected cannot make it to the NTC. However, all those chosen back then made it to the NTC and Talas lost her chance.

Ragasajo, for her part, has had a good run as she has been playing basketball for just a year. Talas, her good friend, influenced her to try the sport.

The ANS girls basketball team is coached by former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) player Fred Serafica, who first suited up for the Crispa Redmanizers.

Serafica has been voluntarily coaching the team since May 2015, when he found out the school had no basketball program in place.

“We gave it 3 years for the team to make it to the City Olympics, regionals (CVIRAA Meet) and the Palaro but it hasn’t been a year yet and they are already playing in the CVIRAA and 4 of them have been selected to the Palaro. And now, this (referring to the Jr NBA and Jr WNBA),” said Serafica.

Aside from the girls, a member of the ANS boys basketball team also made it to the selection – 13-year-old Kendall Limana. Serafica said he brought 12 kids for the selection and he is happy that 4 of them made it.

Limana will join 7 others. Four of them are from Cebu City: Lowell Jhan Francis Chan and Anskie McLouisse Espina of  Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, and Tracy Carl Dadang and Justin Atilano of the University of San Carlos.

The other 3 are from neighboring areas in the Visayas: Harold Alarcon and Fritz Felix Valencia of Bacolod Tay Tung High School, and Nicholas Steven Pura of SJI Bacolod.

The Jr NBA and Jr WNBA is free for boys and girls from 10 to 14 years old, or born from 2002 to 2006.

The event tipped off in  January at the Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati. The first regional selection was held in Davao before the Cebu leg.

One final Regional Selection Camp will be held in Manila. The organizers will shoulder the expenses for all those selected for the NTC in Manila.

During the NTC, skills of selected young hoopsters will be further enhanced. The 3-day event will culminate in the selection of 10 boys and 5 girls for the Philippines Jr NBA and Jr WNBA All-Star Team.

Aside from the selection camps, the event also holds clinics for both players and coaches. This year, the clinics were held in Bukidnon, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Dagupan, Davao, Iloilo, Metro Manila, Puerto Princesa, Batangas, Catanduanes, and Cavite.

Head coach Craig Brown said the level of basketball he has seen the kids play in Cebu is an indication that the “work that the local coaches are investing in the youth here is really, really paying off.”

Brown added he thinks that basketball has a great representation in the Visayas. “I definitely think this region here, the skills level, is very, very good.”

The head coach added that as these kids grow, coaches should continue to work on their ball handling and passing, as well as focus on the fundamentals of the sport.

“I think all kids, as they continue to advance and develop, I don’t think they can never get enough of ball handling and passing.” – Rappler.com