NBTC Finals underway

NBTC Finals underway

by rick olivares

BACOLOD -- As 16 teams from all over the country marched into the West Negros University gym in Bacolod, Negros Occidental for the Seaoil NBTC Elite League National Finals last Sunday May 22, Eric Altamirano stood at one side, a proud father of the grassroots development program called the National Basketball Training Center.

For “Coach E”, as Altamirano, the one time University of the Philippines Fighting Maroon who a UAAP title way back in 1986, the NBTC isn’t a just a game but a training ground for players where they develop skills, build characters, and develop leaders. “Skills are somewhat easier to learn but values, that’s something that molds a person. Nowadays, coaches do not just recruit players for their abilities but also for their character. That is something that is just as important for us at the NBTC. It starts from their coaches we have grown into a big league and it’s very impossible to teach all the kids 6,000 in program. Target coaches workshops give everything that we know about basketball. Transfer that technology to the kids.”

Samahang Basketbolista ng Pilipinas Executive Director Sonny Barrios lauded the program and said during the opening ceremony of the finals at the West Negros University that, “Not every one here makes it to the PBA. But the values that are imparted from the training and from the game should help them become better human beings.”

NBTC Tournament Director Manny Nitorreda said that despite basketball being the country’s most popular sport, there is still room for the growth of the game. “This is to provide the best training possible for coaches and for players from the provinces to improve their game and to be given further opportunities to coach in bigger programs and to play in the big leagues. “A scholarship alone is priceless,” underscored Nitorreda who named San Beda’s Baser Amer and Far Eastern University’s Gryann Mendoza as graduates of the program.

The tip off of the finals also showcased a match between the Energen RP U16 Team versus the Bacolod NBTC All-Star Selection. Olsen Racela, the former San Miguel Beerman whose initial foray into coaching is with the national squad said that his team is representative of the success of the NBTC program as he has several players included in his squad. “It’s truly a national team because you have representation from boys from the entire country.”

Summed up Altamirano of the program: “Sabi nila nasa Manila lang ang training whereas sa probinsya you are left behind. I am very proud to say that in the last four years we’ve run this program, that the level of training in the provinces is now as good as the one in Manila. And we are seeing that now as more players from the provinces get scholarships from Manila-based schools.”

Teams from Bacolod, Bulacan, Cagayan de Oro, Cavite, Cebu, Davao, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iligan, Iloilo, La Union, Lucena, Olongapo, Ormoc, and Zamboanga are competing in the Seaoil NBTC Elite League National Finals ends today May 24, 2011.

Outbound from Manila to Bacolod last Saturday, I was in the same PAL flight with Coach E who is also a fellow Business Mirror columnist. I had seen him play while he was at UP and I do remember quite a few of their games then. And we had a fun time chatting about hoops including his NBTC program. I was there in Bacolod for the PFF Suzuki Under-23 National Cup but Coach E invited me to attend his event at West Negros University. I was glad I did. Hope to have the op for kwentuhan again, coach! In the picture above, am with Coach and former Ateneo/La Salle cager BJ Manalo who is with the Energen U-16 National Team.