PH forms youth basketball team to compete at the AAU World Championships 2020

THE NATIONWIDE selection program for the Pilipinas-AAU Youth Basketball Team is on! Supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and local government units, a series of 3x3 basketball tournaments (for 19Under and 16Under age groups) will kick-off this February across five key regions in the country. Young athletes are invited to join!

True to their slogan, “Para sa Lahat. Para sa Bayan.”, Pilipinas-AAU’s 3x3 Regional Qualifiers will provide aspiring young athletes from across the country an opportunity to showcase their skills for a chance to represent the Philippines in an all expense-paid trip to the US to compete at the AAU World Championship 2020 (5x5 basketball) happening this July at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

UAAP Champion Coach Joe Silva takes the lead as Sports Director and Head Coach. Silva has proven his eye for athlete recruitment after discovering high school superstar Kai Sotto and many others. Coach Mike Oliver, former Batang Gilas head coach, sits as Silva’s assistant coach.

The Pilipinas-AAU 3x3 tournaments will also be the venue to scout for athletes to join the developmental basketball program in preparation for the Youth Olympics 2022.

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an American youth sports organization that has been raising elite athletes for more than a century. The AAU is one of the most competitive youth tournaments in the world with teams playing against elite competition from the across the United States and now also across the world in front of hundreds of coaches and scouting agents. Some of today’s biggest NBA super stars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, and Chris Paul, to name a few, all played at the AAU in their high school years.

Online registration for the Pilipinas-AAU 3x3 Regional Qualifiers is now open, interested athletes may register their teams at http://bit.ly/AAUregional with a registration fee of P1,900 per team.

Age categories are 19under for boys born 2001, 2002, and 2003, and 16under for boys born 2004, 2005, and 2006. Young athletes are invited to gather their team of four players, a coach is optional, and register to compete in any one of the following cities and dates.

South Luzon Cluster: Naga City – Feb. 15-16

Mindanao Cluster: Davao City – Feb. 22-23 Visayas Cluster: Cebu City – Mar. 7-8

NCR Cluster: Manila – Mar. 14-15

North Luzon Cluster: Angeles City, Pampanga – Mar. 28-29

3x3 winners from each region, both 19U and 16U category, will move on to the National Selection camp in Manila where a final pool of 25 athletes, combined from 3x3 tournament winners and handpicked recruits, will be selected to complete the roster of Pilipinas-AAU 5x5 basketball team and 16under developmental pool for the Youth Olympics 2022. The PilipinasAAU Team will undergo a 13-week elite training program to prepare them for the AAU 5x5 World Championship 2020 – the first team to be sent to compete at the AAU representing the Philippines.

For more information on how to register your team, visit @PilipinasAAU on Facebook or contact support at 0945 492 6097. This event is organized by Equality Sports and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.