NBTC 2013: The rise of the future phenoms

For most of us male folk in the Philippines, we all dreamed at one point in our lives to be one of either three things: a famous showbiz icon, a zillionaire tycoon or a basketball star.

Now unless you have stunning good looks, musical or acting talent and the acumen that can make you the next Donald Trump, most of us will have better luck at basketball, correct? Well, most of us believed that and many readers here at Yahoo! Philippines may still have that opportunity to become a basketball legend. For me, that ship has long sailed and is probably lost at sea.

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I had ambitions of being a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) player ever since I saw my first Toyota-Crispa game in 1979 and at one point in my youth I actually believed it just might be attainable. But getting cut from tryouts, being victimized by a quicker opponent’s ankle-breaker and the realization that there were just too many people who were apparently better at it is when the reality sinks in and we decide to make ourselves more useful and functioning members of society by just being in the workforce and unleash all our pent up frustrations in those weekend pick-up games where stories can be exchanged of how we almost made it at and could have had it all.

Well, for thirty teenagers last Sunday morning at the Ynares Sports Complex in Pasig City, that dream of hoops stardom took a definitive leap forward as these high school seniors from across the archipelago made their presences felt, not only to the captive audience that had descended upon the venue but to a phalanx of the veritable who’s who in the collegiate basketball scene. Once again, future phenoms were unveiled in the 2013 National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) All-Star game.

I had my first experience with the NBTC in 2007 when the fledgling program conducted its culminating activity at Brent School in Mamplasan, Laguna. It was one of BTV’s earlier local coverages and I just so happened to be paired up with its Training Director Alex Compton and learned so much about the plight of the then greenhorns. One of the young kids I took notice of then was a blond wingman from Faith Academy. This youngster ran around the court on offense and defense with the same fervor and I remember telling Compton, “…that American kid will turn a program around…”

The “kid” in 2007 happened to be Kirk Long and true enough he helped uplift the winning program of the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles to the tune of four consecutive titles in his five year career. The NBTC helped put Long and many other game-changers on the proverbial collegiate basketball map.

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Last Sunday, I could only identify one kid on sight as I had seen him as a young boy watching some PBA games. It made me feel old to realize that the small child I exchanged high-fives with when I was still a budding radio broadcaster was now a 6’3” high school senior who showed some of the moves he acquired from his future Hall-Of-Fame father. The La Salle Greenhills (LSGH) product was Andre Alonzo Paras, the eldest son of former two-time PBA MVP Benjie Paras.

During halftime of the game—which Compton and I once again had the honor of covering for BTV as the TV panelists—we had current Blue Eagles Head Coach Bo Perasol and Smart Gilas mentor Chot Reyes join us for a powwow.

Perasol quipped: “Andre’s skills were developed because of good breeding,” to this Reyes couldn’t contain himself, replying: “Benjie has good breeding?” And then none of us could hold back the laughter. It was one of the longest halftime stints I had in my career, but aside from the humor I had the chance to share with the three distinguished basketball icons I also learned what many coaches were there to seek.

“We look to see if the aspirant can make an immediate impact in the program,” Perasol elaborated. “And we also look for those who can develop to help us later on.” In short, Team B players.

“The amount of talent the NBTC has helped develop throughout the years is one of the reason why we keep a keen eye on the program,” Reyes said. “There have actually been a few players in this group that we have already invited to participate in our national team practices and this gives them a unique chance to experience where they could be headed in the future.”

Besides Paras, there were a few others who were second generation players such as Mario Bonleon—also from LSGH—who is the son of former Philippine Basketball League (PBL) campaigner Mark Bonleon and Jerie Pinggoy, son of Jerry Pinggoy who played for a few seasons in the PBA. The younger Pinggoy was obviously one of the kids scouts kept a close eye on as he is the reigning Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Junior’s MVP, while the Letran Squires’ Rey Nambatac, the former MVP from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) also strutted his stuff but it was already common knowledge that the 5’11” swingman is all set to stay in Intramuros for the Knights in the upcoming season.

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Others who—at least as of last Sunday afternoon—were already “committed” to play for a tertiary squad were the San Beda Red Cubs’ Axel Iñigo (younger brother of the Far Eastern University’s Achie Iñigo) who was headed to Leo Austria’s Adamson University, National Univeristy (NU) Bullpup forward Reggie Morido—who will be a Bulldog this season—and FEU-Fern’s Jeson Delfinado staying with the Tamaraws.

Here’s the full list of the nation’s top thirty high school seniors. Take a good look because some of these kids may just be household names by the middle of the year:

Jeric Adorio (6’0”, SF)—Sun Yat Sen High School (Iloilo)

Neil Agustin (6’0, SF)—Southern City College (Zamboanga)

Raymond Andico (5’11”, SF), Southern City College (Zamboanga)

Arc Gabriel Araw-Araw (5’6”, PG)—Ateneo de Cebu (Cebu)

Raphael Atangan (5’11”, SF)—National University (Metro Manila)

Wilson Bartolome (6’5”, C)—Chiang Kai-shek College (Metro Manila)

Kimlee Bayquin (6’0”, SF)—Chiang Kai-shek College (Metro Manila)

Mario Bonleon (6’1”, SG/SF)—La Salle Greenhills (Metro Manila)

Ralph Laurence Busa (5’11”, SG)—National University (Metro Manila)

Levi de la Cruz (5’8”, PG)—National University (Metro Manila)

Jeson Delfinado (5’11”, SF/PF)—Far Eastern University-Fern (Metro Manila)

Andres Paul Desederio (5’10”, PG/SG)—University of the Visayas (Cebu)

Jeric Diego (6’1”, PF)—Mapua High School (Metro Manila)

Clint Doliguez (6’0”, SF)—Hope Christian High School (Metro Manila)

Roger Domingo, Jr. (5’11”, SF/PF)—Far Eastern University-Fern (Metro Manila)

Jefher John Egan (5’10”, SG/SF)—St. Mary’s School (Cagayan de Oro)

Axel Iñigo (5’6”, PG)—San Beda High School (Rizal)

Kyles Lao (5’11”, SG)—Xavier School (Metro Manila)

Jon Macasaet (6’4”, C)—San Sebastian College-Recoletos (Metro Manila)

Yozi Manguilimotan (5’10”, SG)—Emar Learning Center (Davao)

Alwin John Margallo (5’9”, PG/SG)—Adamson Univeristy (Metro Manila)

Reggie Morido (6’1”, SF/PF)—National University (Metro Manila)

Rey Nambatac (5’11”, PG/SG)—Letran (Metro Manila)

Andre Alonzo Paras (6’3”, PF/C)—La Salle Greenhills (Metro Manila)

Ricky Peromingan (5’10”, SG/SF)—Bukidnon Faith Christian School (Bukidnon)

Jerie Pinggoy (5’8”, PG/SG)—Far Eastern University-Fern (Metro Manila)

Bong Quinto (6’0”, SG/SF)—Letran (Metro Manila)

Edralin Villanueva (5’7”, PG)—Hope Christian High School (Metro Manila)

Kraniel Villoria (6’0”, SF)—West Negros University (Bacolod)

Carlo Young (5’9”, PG/SG)—Chiang Kai-shek College (Metro Manila)

After witnessing their performances at the annual classic, here are my top five of the unsigned incoming freshmen:

5. Andre Alonzo PARAS—not only do we have to respect the pedigree but also the developed skill-set. At 6’3”, Paras showed himself to be a heady rebounder and had no bad habits in the paint. He also paraded a deft touch from medium range and could be quite an asset to a team that is either rebuilding or needing to plug a hole in the power forward slot. His good looks also add to his marketability as probably the next big thing in college basketball.

4. Jeric ADORIO—I didn’t keep a close eye on the official statistics but when this Ilonggo lad checked in, he must have registered about five rebounds in three minutes. His physique and natural abilities reminded me of a young Gabby Espinas with the offensive instinct of a Noynoy Baclao. Given minutes, he could turn out to be a double-double machine and he can win a multitude of 50-50 balls with his innate hustle and unabashed courage. He’s only 18, so he is still a growing boy and could become a huge factor on any collegiate squad.

3. Levi DE LA CRUZ III—being tiny did not hinder his sortie one bit. I almost immediately likened him to a faster version of Mark Barroca and even referred to him as an Al Vergara clone. If a team needs a quick decision-making point guard with blistering speed and a tough, strong body to boot, de la Cruz might just be that diamond in the rough that many programs are in search of.

2. Clint DOLIGUEZ—this kid has a special aura about him that you know he’ll get the job done any which he can and still show tremendous poise in the process. Basketball seemed so effortless for him as found ways of splitting the zone defenses at will his dribble-penetrations, stepping back and hitting his Detlef Schrempf-type jumper and also providing a few boards which he easily acquires due to his heft. I already called him the next Ranidel de Ocampo and I think the Smart Gilas candidate will be quite pleased with the allusion.

1. Jerie PINGGOY—you want an assist-first, shoot-later court-general with deadly accuracy, this kid is for you. Again showing an inherited skill-set, Pinggoy spent the better portion of the game piercing defenses with his slick passing which sometimes even defied logic. He’s a daredevil in the paint and just manages to find a more open teammate at just the right time. I know many of you will react, but I saw a bit of Johnny Abarrientos in this Baby Tamaraw, maybe even a hint of Chris Paul—I kid you not. He isn’t the reigning UAAP Juniors MVP for nothing and he is easily the most ready of all the aspirants. Whether or not he stays with FEU is the big question at the moment. He will be the biggest catch for any team needing a point guard who can deliver NOW.

Honorable Mentions:

Bong QUINTO—the reigning NCAA MVP seemed to have an off day, but he showed some skills that make him appear to be a program-shaker.

Arc Gabriel ARAW-ARAW—yes, all day. By the time he played in the All-Star game, Compton mentioned that he was playing in his fifth game of the day. It sure didn’t look like it the way he ran the floor and conducted the offense of the Dark Team when he was in there.

Carlo YOUNG—this kid was born to shoot. He might even be an upgrade of Joseph Yeo in that regard. And even though his shots weren’t falling towards the latter part of the game, I got the feeling that if he gets on a hot streak, he could approach Paolo Mendoza-like numbers.

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The All-Star game had the two champion coaches of the UAAP (Mike Oliver-FEU Fern) and NCAA (Britt Reroma-SBC) at the helm of the two opposing squads with Reroma’s White Team prevailing over Oliver’s Blue squad behind the late game heroics of eventual MVP and future Letran Knight Rey Nambatac, who finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and also went 6/10 from distance—two of which came within the final two minutes and with the game still hanging in the balance.

In the end, the coaches, the scouts, the media and the high school phenoms themselves were able to assess the available talent and now move to the formal recruitment process. But once again the NBTC—under its program director Eric Altamirano and his legion of regional coordinators and scouts were able to whittle down an initial field of over 4,000 talents to 30 of the very best in the land. The All-Star game will be aired very soon on BTV and you can follow me for updates on that.

Basketball is once again shining bright for the nation and these up and coming stalwarts will define the sport’s future. They’ve taken that next step to realizing a dream we all shared once. Let’s hope their journey continues all the way to the top.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.

Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter: @NoelZarate