*** PILIPINAS National Junior Team ***

[Grr_tiger]

while the spotlight is focused solely on the Team Pilipinas senior men's team, i think NOW is also the appropriate time for the country to regain its lofty position in the juniors competition.

the Philippines won the first 5 stagings of the Youth competition, which we last won in the 80's with the likes of Hector Calma, Alfie Almario, Samboy Lim, Derick Pumaren, Elmer Reyes and Leo Austria leading a pack of Filipinos kids coached by Ron Jacobs.


fast forward more than 25 years later and we have in our posession a couple of TALL and promising "HOMEGROWN" kids polishing their skills in the US.


6'9" JAPETH AGUILAR of Western Kentucky U




6'8" GIAN CHIU of Desert Christian HS in California


these two could be the pillars of Philippine Youth basketball.

Japeth is 19 years old while Gian is still 18, so that makes them qualified for the 2008 FIBA Asia U20 Championship for Men. also add to that list these fine big men, Dave Marcelo of San Beda and Justin Chua of Chang Kai Shek HS.




the future looks bright, i just hope SBP would take advantage.

[reighun]

we must have an executive director for BAP-SBP first, to jump start all the programs and plans, especially on this one.

[dRknGeL]

maganda yan sa future ng basketball.. dapat yun iba din na magaling na 18 and under na player natin i train sa us para masanay ng maaga

[bchoter]

There was I time when I get more excited with the composition of the youth team than the men's team. Unfortunately, schools from major leagues refused to lend their players for the youth team. UST is probably the last team to allow a big chunk of their core players to play for the flag. And then Johnny Tam came.

[bchoter]

I think coach Jamike of Ateneo HS makes a good coach for the Juniors team. He is, literally and figuratively, a mini-Joe Lipa.

[bchoter]

What's the age limit for the Asian Juniors?

[Big Ticket]

^i think it's 18 years old and below....

the last RP Youth Team that was competitive i think was the 1995 team....the ABC Tournament was held here in manila, though our team only finished 5th (or 6th) because of that sorry loss to Jordan in the quarters....more than half of that RP Youth Team made the PBA led by danny ildefonso...others in the team were mark telan, rommel adducul, ogie gumatay, paolo mendoza, bryan gahol, gerard francisco....those who did not make the PBA were dominic uy, allen patrimonio, angelo velasco, ernest medina, ralph rivera

[bchoter]

Off topic: Where the hell is Gelo?

On topic: It really is high time for our sports officials to put up a serious juniors basketball sports program. And since the major leagues are now among the stakeholders I hope they are more than willing to lend their players for the flag. Are the major regional juniors tournaments' schedule fixed?

[Grr_tiger]

What's the age limit for the Asian Juniors?

there are actually 2 tournaments right now. the FIBA U18 and U20 Championships.

i think IRAN is the defending U20 champs where they fielded a 7-foot kid and routed powerhouse China a couple of years ago; however, the Chinese boys are still lording it over the U18 division.

[Big Ticket]

yup...IRAN defeated china....they were led by their 7-3 center, jaber....who played here during the champions cup....

[bchoter]

I think the problem with the international junior tournaments is that they do not have a regular calendar of events that the varsity leagues we can work around like how the PBA changed its calender to not go in conflict with the targeted international tourneys.

[KobeWanKenobi]

The Philippines shouldn't stick with just one junior team. It should follow the Yugoslavian Teams model of having age group junior teams.

In Yugoslavia, each pro basketball team (Partizan Belgrade, Red Star, etc) has its own age group team. There's a 16 year old and under team, a 17 to 18 year old team, a 19 to 20 year old team, and a senior team (21 and over).

The 16 year old practices and plays against the team directly older than it. The 17 to 18 year old team practices against the team directly younger and older than it etc. Thus the younger team gets exposed to a higher level of competition by going up against the older teams.

Incidentally, each age group team uses the same patterns and offense used by the senior team. So that if a player is promoted from one age group to another, or he reaches the correct age, he'll still be able to play the mother team's offense.

In our case, having an age group National team means there's a way to train the best players of their age group and at the same time continue the national team program without any interruptions.

[math_techie]

Masyadong nakafocus ang atensyon sa senior's team, pero sana magsimula na rin ang development ng Junior's team. Since both the UAAP and the NCAA are pillars of the the SBP, they should start spearheading this program. Sana wag na nila hintayin ang June para dito, kasi pagdating ng june eh nakafocus na naman sila sa mga respective seasons nila.

My pick for Junior's coach is San Beda Red Cubs' coach...Ato Badolato, he is arguably the best HS coach in the recent history of Philippine Basketball.

[pup2]

I agree. Pero pinakamalaking problema talaga ang schedule -- unless papayag silang lahat na sa 1 school lang sila na puwera sa ibang leagues -- malabo.

[flipcager]

I agree. Pero pinakamalaking problema talaga ang schedule -- unless papayag silang lahat na sa 1 school lang sila na puwera sa ibang leagues -- malabo.

eh di mag-sacrifice din dapat ang UAAP at NCAA tulad ng PBA.


ilipat nila ang basketball competitions sa 2nd semester since all FIBA tournaments are scheduled within the months of July to September.

[math_techie]

Yeah, the PBA has already made sacrifices by changing their schedule, I hope the people from UAAP and NCAA would likewise do the same. I move nila from November to February ang mga seasons nila, para during the summer upto the 1st sem eh makapagtrain naman for the national pool ang mga players nila

[Grr_tiger]

Yeah, the PBA has already made sacrifices by changing their schedule, I hope the people from UAAP and NCAA would likewise do the same. I move nila from November to February ang mga seasons nila, para during the summer upto the 1st sem eh makapagtrain naman for the national pool ang mga players nila

does this mean we'll have a UAAP and NCAA March Madness?

[pup2]

What's march madness?

[hanskyut]

^^^
US NCAA playoffs

[Big Ticket]

What's march madness?

graduation.....hehehe...