PH U-18 squad targets defense of Seaba crown

Five youth team holdovers banner the Philippine under-18 team that will defend the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) Youth Championship starting June 25 in Singapore.

Hubert Cani and Jay Alejandro (National University), Jay Javelosa (Reedley International), Prince Rivero (La Salle Green Hills) and Isaac Go (Xavier) will form the core of a virtually new squad national coach Olsen Racela formed just last month.

The top three teams at the end of the five-nation contest will head to Mongolia late August for the Fiba Asia tournament, where the Philippines finished fourth in the under-16 division in Nha Trang, Vietnam last year.

However, this youth team no longer enjoys corporate backing after its three-year contract with Tao Corporation ended last year.

“It’s really a sacrifice, especially for the boys,” said Racela. “They come to practice using their own allowances. It’s all for the love of country. We said it’s a sacrifice and they understand.”