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| Top seven boys and five girls who will represent Mindanao in the National Training Camp in Manila on May 12-14 [Left to right: (TOP) Jezreel Aton, Jerald Arestes, Khen Caduyac, Stephen Jepbson Garcia, John Anthony Melgazo, Geo Ramos, Maverick John Vieto (Bottom) Giordana Tagarda, Louise Veronica Agad, September Star Padla, Ella Rae Amulato, Pauline Angelique Valle] |
Last February 11-12, 2017, a record-breaking number of 1,479 young athletes from Mindanao showed up at this year's first Regional Selection Camp of Jr. NBA Philippines 2017. This event was presented by Alaska at Xavier University at Cagayan De Oro City.
After experiencing the various progressive basketball drills and scrimmages, Jezreel Aton, 13, of Bethel Baptist Christian Academy; Khen Caduyac, 13, and Stephen Jebson Garcia, 13, of Corpus Cristi; John Anthony Melgazo, 14, and Jerald Orestes, 13, of Bukidnon National Highschool; Geo Ramos, 13, of Xavier University and Maverick John Vieto, 13, of San Isidro College ruled the boys division while Louise Veronica Agad, 12, Ella Rae Amulato, 12, and Pauline Angelique Valle, 12, of Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive Highschool (MOGCHS); September Star Padla, 13, of Bukidnon State University; and Giordana Tagarda, 10, of City Central School are the girls who will represent Mindanao to the Jr. NBA Philippines National Training Camp in Manila this May 12-14.
These 12 young ballers excelled in the skills stations and exhibition games, exemplifying the Jr. NBA core S.T.A.R. values of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, a positive Attitude and Respect throughout the camp. The Jr. NBA committee headed by Jr. NBA Coach Craig Brown evaluated the regional finalists.
“These kids in Cagayan De Oro listen extremely well and play hard,” said Jr. NBA Coach Craig Brown. “If they continue to work on the fundamentals that we worked on here over the last two days and really stay committed to the S.T.A.R values which they exuded here this weekend, I think the sky is the limit for these young people.”
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| WNBA participants go at it in the scrimmages as this girl tries to escape her defender |
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| Fly high. These girls float in the air as one tries to score a basket while the other attempts to deflect the ball |
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| A boy drives hard to the basket despite the pesky defense of his opponent |
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| Shooting for his dream. This Jr. NBA hopeful leaves his defender behind and goes all the way to the basket for a layup |
Some of the young athletes who participated in the two-day camp traveled all the way from Bukidnon, Butuan, Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga for the opportunity to be selected and advance to the next stages of the league’s global youth basketball participation program.
“These children reinforce Alaska’s commitment to promoting sports and outdoor play in the Philippines. It is our mission to nurture young talents and to promote healthy and active lifestyle through sports and outdoor play,” says Wilfred Uytengsu, Alaska Milk Corporation President, and CEO.
Based on the 8th National Nutrition Survey in 2013 by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), obesity is one of the most prevalent nutritional problems of Filipino children with about 5 out of 100 Filipino children are overweight.
Given the growing issues on health, Alaska believes that there is a need to reinforce its thrust in leading a healthy lifestyle not just by drinking milk but by living actively through sports and other outdoor activities. Alaska seeks to engage the Filipino consumers, especially the youth, through its sports development programs to help nourish children to become champions.
Jr. NBA Philippines 2017 presented by Alaska Regional Selection Camp’s next stop will be Lucena (Feb. 25-26) followed by Cebu (March 11-12) and Manila (April 1-2). Boys and girls ages 10-14 can still register for the free youth basketball program at www.jrnba.asia/philippines, where the program terms and conditions can be found.
Fans can also follow Jr. NBA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jrnbaphilippines. For all things NBA, fans can visit www.nba.com, like the NBA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/philsnba and follow www.twitter.com/nba_philippines on Twitter.
To learn more about the Alaska Milk Corporation, visit www.alaskamilk.com and www.playph.com.Thanks for dropping by and have a great day! - Jexx
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PR from Laila Opina from Perk Communications Inc.
