Gilas-eligible Fil-Am Bayla draws interest from UP, Ateneo

MANILA, Philippines – It’s not often that young ballers of the new generation say the midrange game is their go-to option when hooping. 

Perhaps the recent revival of its lost art in the NBA factors in the midrange’s resurrection. 

Chris Paul and Devin Booker do their best damage in the in-between area and their Phoenix Suns have the current best record in the NBA. Perhaps it’s useful after all.

There’s also another baller out in Chicago, DeMar DeRozan, who will start in the All-Star Game following a campaign of many made midrange pull-ups.

Beyond the NBA influence, early coaching is what leaves everlasting traits in the development of a teenage basketball player, even more than the players they watch on television daily.

Luckily for Filipino hooper Jacob Bayla, he has both advantages. Interestingly enough, they even intersect.

“I say DeMar DeRozan. Well, I’m a slasher and I can shoot the midrange pretty good at a high-efficient rate,” was Bayla’s answer to Rappler’s question of which NBA player he aims to model his game after.

Bayla, who is 16 years old, plays shooting guard and small forward. He was born to Filipino parents and lives in Norwalk, California. He stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs 180 pounds. He’s a high school sophomore.

And two of this country’s premier college basketball programs are already interested in him: University of the Philippines and Ateneo.

He also attained his Philippine passport before turning 16, making him Gilas-eligible. Bayla is a dual citizen of his home country and the country he grew up in.

“You don’t get a lot of young ballers saying they like the midrange,” Bayla hears from the interviewer over the Zoom call. “A lot of kids nowadays just want to pop threes.”

Bayla isn’t necessarily a Chicago Bulls fan, but has known of DeRozan from an early age as a basketball aficionado. The NBA veteran attended high school in Compton, which according to the Filipino teen is, at most, 20 minutes away from where he lives. 

“My coach from middle school actually coached DeMar DeRozan in high school and kind of mentored me in a way that shaped DeMar DeRozan,” Bayla said of his coach Chet. 

“He taught me the fundamentals and [how to shoot].”

Bayla attends Valley Christian High School and is in the middle of a playoff run where they hope to contend for the state title. He’s already starting as the team’s small forward, which is impressive given his youth. They’re motivated to bounce back after falling short in the finals for the state title last year.

It isn’t too early to think about college ball, especially when the raw skills and fundamentals for him to become a solid basketball player are already showing.

“For college, if I ever get an opportunity to play here, like ever get an offer here like Division 1 or Division 2 (US NCAA), I would gladly play here, but my main goal is to play on the national team and represent my country. The Philippines is another option that’s open to me,” Bayla said. 

The last line is important, because what he means by that is if he doesn’t play for a college in the United States, then he’ll come to the Philippines to try out for the national team program while also playing for a university. So far, he’s talked with Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga and UP program director Bo Perasol.

“I talked to Ateneo over the phone and coach Sandy was really nice,” Bayla shared. 

What did they discuss?

“How it’s like there and what to expect if I ever play in the Philippines and he said I just need to work hard and keep my grades up. He said grades are really important out there to play with the team and he said to stay focused and stay on [my] ground, because my time will come if I ever go there.”

The two were supposed to link up for a workout when Bayla was in the country last year, although it didn’t push through due to a sudden lockdown.

Arespacochaga, a longtime member of the Blue Eagles’ coaching staff, even recommended that Bayla play high school ball already in the Philippines, paving the way for his transition to the collegiate rank. 

Bayla is staying put for now in the United States, working with PBA great Alex Cabagnot plus coaches Cris Gopez and Rodel Lizan.

Perasol, the former head coach of the Fighting Maroons, saw Bayla in action when he visited California last year. A workout was arranged by Fil-Am Nation Select where UP’s director got to see Bayla, Ethan Galang, and Henry Galinato in action. 

Galinato has already committed to playing his lone UAAP season with UP. 

“I only saw [coach Bo] for like two hours and we didn’t talk about going into the recruiting process yet. But yeah, so we just talked about like, what to expect and stuff.”

When asked if Bayla is already leaning towards one of the rivals for his commitment, he insisted that it will take an actual visit to campus and the teams for him to figure out which path he wants to take.

“I just really want to visit the school and see and actually watch the team and how they function, how their system works, because I need to see that first-hand.”

Bayla also mentioned that he is “open to talk to other universities.”

There is another title-caliber team in the UAAP who might fancy recruiting him: the DLSU Green Archers. After all, Jacob’s family has ties to La Salle.

“My parents actually both went to De La Salle. All my uncles and aunts went there. Yeah, [I’m] definitely open to any school up there,” he said.

Wherever he studies, Bayla plans to take up Physical Therapy. His father works as a physical therapist and nearly became a trainer for the Las Vegas Raiders in the National Football League (NFL). He said his dad also played ball and was a good three-point shooter, something he hopes to take after.

“I would like to improve my whole entire game. Like, just fix more stuff that I need to work on like probably making the right reads on pick-and-rolls, right? [Also], ballhandling, shooting, I need to be a more consistent shooter because coach Bo told me that the one thing I needed to work on was my shooting and my confidence in shooting [the basketball]. 

“He said If I want to play out there, I need to hit three-balls.”

And if that doesn’t work out so well, he’s still got a pretty good midrange game.

Clearly, it’s still a valuable weapon. Jacob will be as well for whoever lands his services. – Rappler.com