Batang Gilas competes in SEABA under-16 tilt
The long journey back to the world stage will begin in Cagayan de Oro as the Batang Gilas squad defends its title in the SEABA under-16 tournament set April 14-20 at the Xavier University gym in Cagayan de Oro.
Presented by SMART, and MVP Sports Foundation and co-hosted by Mayor Oscar Moreno, the event will have under-16 teams from Brunei, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia competing in the tournament also being supported by the Department of Tourism’s Promotions Board headed by chief operating officer Domingo Ramon Enerio III.
The tournament serves as a qualifying event for the FIBA Asia U-16 set July this year.
Fans from Mindanao and the Visayas will get a glimpse of the future of Philippine basketball headed by the high-scoring Sam Josef Belangel.
Belangel, a 16-year-old prize find from Taytung High School, once scored 99 points in Iloilo and 85 in a tournament in Bacolod.
Also on the lineup are Gian Mamuyac of Ateneo and Will Gozum of University of the Philippines, two highly regarded vital cogs of national team rookie coach Michael Oliver.
Mamuyac is a product of the Jr NBA Camp while Gozum is a promising 6-foot-5 player who can play inside and out.
Completing the 12-man lineup are Jed Colonia, Ralph Escalona, Juan Gomez de Liano, Gillian Flores, Rhayyan Amsali, Shaun Ildefonso, Romulo Berjay, Jonas Tibayan and Kris Harvey Pagsanjan.