The Seaoil NBTC Elite League adds an All-Star Game to its program

The National Basketball Training Center adds an All-Star Game to its program

by rick olivares

What do San Beda’s Baser Amer and Far Eastern University’s Terrence Romeo have in common?

These two cagers are proud products of the National Basketball Training Center.

Now on its fifth year, the basketball grassroots development program of the Sea Oil National Basketball Training Center Elite League is now run in 17 cities with close to 5,000 participants from 139 schools from all over the Philippines. “It’s a huge leap from the initial three key cities of Manila, Cebu, and Davao that tipped off with 100 boys,” marveled Program Director Eric Altamirano,

The Seaoil NBTC Elite League has also grown not just in its participating players but also in its supporters. By the program’s third year, eight LGUs and 39 companies were supporting the teams participating in the program.

Said Altamirano, “The Seaoil NBTC Elite League provides a competitive environment where the skills of the kids are developed and honed. We also teach them strategies and one facet of the game that is often overlooked – mental preparedness. The workshops are specifically designed not only with basketball in mind but also in imparting life’s values and character building. We believe in the holistic formation of a person.”

“We have some of the best coaches in the country participating in these camps to oversee the training of the kids. Many of them have gone on to be a part of the national teams that were coached by myself and later by Olsen Racela.”

“This being the program’s fifth year,” added National Training Director Alex Compton who also briefly played in the PBA and is an assistant with the Powerade Tigers, “We are adding an exciting new component to the NBTC by holding the first Sea Oil High School All-Star Game. This is patterned after the McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball Games in the United States.”

The Sea Oil High School All-Star Game will close out the year’s Seaoil NBTC Elite League in the first week of March 2012 following the National Finals. People from all over the country will also get to follow their respective players on television as the All-Star Game will be televised on AKTV.”

The participating cities in the NBTC program include Baguio, La Union, Tarlac, Olongapo, Batangas, Cavite, Lucena, Naga, Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Ormoc, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iligan, and Zamboanga.