Batang Gilas thankful for cooperation of schools to form ‘competitive team’ for SEABA Under-18 in Indonesia
AS PART of its preparation for the SEABA Under-18 tournament in Indonesia, which will start this weekend, Batang Gilas management and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) made sure they will address the problem that has been affecting the previous campaigns of our national team.
The SBP and Batang Gilas reached out to the colleges and universities in lending players and making sure of their availability before they head to the qualifying tournament for the FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship.
This time, Batang Gilas was able to form a competitive team for the SEABA tournament and team manager Andrew Teh couldn’t be happier.
“Without their cooperation, it will be hard to form a competitive team for the SEABA and FIBA Asia tournament,” wrote Mr. Teh in an online interview with BusinessWorld.
According to Mr. Teh, countries like South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia and Indonesia have become more competitive through the years and they expect them to field in their cream of the crop for these major international events.
“They’re getting taller and faster every year. It’s very important for us to assemble a team than the one we formed two years ago,” added Mr. Teh.
“So we would like to show our appreciation to schools like National University, Ateneo, UPIS, University of the Philippines, Chiang Kai Shek, San Beda, Xavier and Trail International School Thailand for showing their support by allowing their players to join our national team,” wrote Mr. Teh.
Batang Gilas has started their daily grind for the SEABA campaign and head coach Mike Oliver vowed to come up with a well-prepared team. Last year, the Philippines won the under-16 tournament in Cagayan de Oro City to qualify for the FIBA Asia Youth Championship.
Returning for the national youth team are Gian Mamuyac of Ateneo, Will Gozum of UPIS and Jonas Tibayan of Chiang Kai Shek — three members of last year’s SEABA U-16 team that won the title in Cagayan de Oro.
A few other notable newcomers were also added led by Joshua Sinclair and his National University teammate Theo Flores as well as Louie Fran Yu, who will attend Trail International School in Bangkok, Thailand this July.
Sinclair played in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour’s Manila leg, playing opposite another Manila team led by PBA star and Gilas Pilipinas point guard Terrence Romeo and battling against a team from Auckland. Other players in the lineup are Evan Heinrich Nelle, Pedro Alfaro III and John Bryle Bahio of San Beda, Jethro Madrigal of University of the Philippines, and Rendell Joseph Lee of Xavier.