Select Jr. NBA Philippines 2019 All-Stars, comprised of three boys and one girl, will represent Asia Pacific at the Jr. NBA Global Championship, a youth basketball tournament for the top 13- and 14-year-old boys’ and girls’ teams from around the world.
The event will be held on Aug. 6 to 11 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida.
Camille Nolasco, Heinz Gabriel Demisana, Sebastian Reyes, and Lionel Matthew Rubico were recognized as part of the top performing players of the first-ever Jr. NBA Asia Pacific Selection Camp staged June 15 and 16 at the Universitas Pelita Harapan in Jakarta, Indonesia, which featured 34 boys and 34 girls from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“Basketball has given me many opportunities with one of them being able to play in the Jr. NBA program. I’m very proud to join the Asia Pacific team competing in the Jr. NBA Global Championship,” said Demisana.
Demisana, Reyes and Rubico will join other members of the Jr. NBA Global Championship Asia Pacific Team in Joshua Dent (Australia), Jayson Tan Zi Sheng (Singapore), Jamil Email Ajmal Bin (Malaysia), Brian Leonard (Indonesia), Eishin Naito (Japan), Dontae Nance (New Zealand) and Tikun Sriphrawiang (Thailand).
The girls’ team, led by Nolasco, is composed of Supawadee Aupatum (Thailand), Angelica Jenifer Candra (Indonesia), Reina Fukuo (Japan), Summah Hanson (Australia), Chong Pui Khee (Malaysia), Phung Trang Linh (Vietnam), Vanissa Renata Siregar (Indonesia), Lily Taulelei (New Zealand) and Iris Yuen (Singapore).
“When I first saw my opponents, I didn’t expect to be here since they’re so tall, but I brought the Filipino mentality ‘puso’ which helped achieve my goal of being part of the Jr. NBA Asia Pacific girls team,” said Nolasco.
Led by Jr. NBA coaches Carlos Barroca, Rob Newson and Natalia Andre, the two-day camp engaged participants to execute technical and tactical skills and develop teamwork among players of varying languages and cultural backgrounds.
In addition, Jr. NBA athletes participated in the skills challenge during the Jr. NBA All-Star Saturday Night event that featured Jr. NBA Indonesia alumni and Indonesian personalities, including professional basketball player Daniel Wenas, actress and singer Mikha Tambayong, and social media influencers Hadi al Ghifary and Reynal Abipraya.
Jr. NBA Philippines 2019 is presented by Alaska, with AXA, Gatorade, Globe, Panasonic, Rexona and Vivo as official partners. ABS-CBN S+A, Basketball TV and NBA Premium TV are the official broadcasters of Jr. NBA Philippines.
Fans can learn more about Jr. NBA Philippines at www.jrnba.asia/philippines and on Facebook and the NBA at www.nba.com and on Facebook and Twitter. Visit www.alaskamilk.com to learn more about Alaska Milk Corporation, and follow Alaska Milk on Facebook for more information about Alaska Sports.