NBTC opens avenue for provincial, international Filipino teams

NBTC execs Alex Compton, Eric Altamirano and Ato Badolato, CJ Suarez from SM pose with NBTC All-Stars. Photo by Bong Lozada

It’s all about development.

SM National Basketball Training Center is set to open its eighth year and this time the provincial and Metro Manila teams will have a crack against Filipinos from Canada and Thailand.

Canada’s Durham Crossover Basketball Team and Thailand’s Trail International School will match up against 22 Philippine teams between March 13 and 17 at Mall of Asia Arena.

NBTC Program Director Eric said the decision to bring in Filipino teams from Canada and Thailand was to widen the scope of the tournament and to look not only at talents based in the Philippines but also from the two countries.

“This year we thought of including the foreign teams since we wanted to widen the talent identification process, one of the main objective is identify talents and develop them,” Altamirano said.

Mike Cruz will head the Fil-Canadian contingent who are the defending champions in the inter-city tournament of North American Basketball Association.

Philippine schools competing in the NBTC tournament are Lyceum of the Philippines University, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, Bacolod Tay Tung High School, St. Robert’s International School, Assumption Montessori School, Southern City Colleges, Assumption College of Davao, San Beda College, Chiang Kai Shek College, Bato Rural Development High School, Palawan National High School, De La Salle Lipa, Rex Dei Academy, Our Lady of the Pillar College Cauayan, Castillejos National High School, Angeles University Foundation, St. Louis College High School, Linao National High School, Paref Springdale School, Dr. Aurelio Mendoza Memorial College, Agusan National High School, and the winner between National University between De La Salle-Zobel in the UAAP Juniors’ Basketball Tournament.

There will be two tournaments and two All-Star games defined as Division 1 and Division 2.

Division 1 will be composed of players from schools in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and the two foreign teams while the players who will compete in the Division 2 game will be scouted during the tournament.