Nokia-RP youth five toughens up in PBL as guest squad
By Jasmine W. Payo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:22:00 02/06/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) has opened its doors to the national cause anew, allowing the Nokia-Philippine youth team to play as a guest squad in the league’s next conference.
“We’re just finalizing the details [of the youth team’s participation],” said league commissioner Chino Trinidad.
“They’re welcome to hone their skills in the PBL. It has always been a part of the PBL program [to help RP teams].”
The Harbour-RP men’s team that captured the gold medal in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games also included a PBL guest stint in its training.
National youth coach Franz Pumaren said his under-18 players will toughen up playing sides five to 10 years their senior.
“We’re joining to gain experience and to jell as a team,” said Pumaren. “We want to know what we need to develop, our weaknesses, and who can really help us in future competitions.”
The Nokia-RP youth team will plunge into its first international competition in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association youth tournament in Kuala Lumpur on May 1, followed by the Asian Youth Championship in Tehran in September.
Aside from their PBL exposure, the high school cagers will also train in the renowned Joe Abunassar basketball camp in the United States next month.
The squad is bannered by Jed Manguera of UAAP juniors champ De La Salle Zobel, Ateneo de Manila University’s Frank Golla, University of the Philippines’ Mark Lopez and Joseph Marata, Xavier’s Gabriel Banal and Sacred Heart-Cagayan de Oro’s Philip Paredes.
Meanwhile, new PBL squad Noosa Shoes vies to parade an overseas-born center with Filipino roots when the next conference opens on Feb. 23.
“We really need a big but mobile player so that we can be competitive,” said team owner Dioceldo Sy, who had Coca-Cola star Asi Tauluva playing for his former PBL team Blu Detergent in 1998.
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