AFTER a four-year absence, the Basketball Efficiency Scientific Training (BEST) Center’s Small Basketeers Philippines-Passarelle program is returning.
With the help of MILO Energy Drink, the program’s 8 to 11-year-old and 12-year-old clinics and competitions will reopen in 11 provinces in October.
The first clinic with 12 teams composed of 15 players each will be held on Oct. 19 in Cagayan de Oro and Pagadian City, while the final activities will be in General Santos City on Dec. 27.
Veronica Jorge, BEST Center’s vice president for operations, said this after she signed a contract agreement MILO sports executive Carlo Sampan on Friday at The City Club in Makati City.
“We are happy for its relaunch after a four-year absence due to COVID-19. Maraming province ang nagtatanong sa amin tungkol dito. We are returning and luckily, with the backing of MILO,” said Jorge.
The BEST program, found by the late Nic Jorge in 1978, stopped operations in 2020 because of the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The center’s activities helped young kids develop skills with good coaching and competition rules in the Passarelle (8-11 yrs old) and the SBP (12-15 yrs old).
According to game rules, different sets of five players for each team will suit up in one of the four quarters of every match.
“As we look to the future, we are dedicated in helping develop champions for life. And continuing the legacy of excellence,” said Sampan during the signing ceremonies, which dedicated a moment of silence for Jorge, who passed in 2022, and his wife Marilyn, who died in 2023.
Through the years, the BEST Center has produced talented players like Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, the Ildefonso brothers Shaun and Dave, Joel Cagulangan, Jan Felicilda, Larry Fonacier, BJ Manalo, Wesley Gonzales, Bacon Austria and Andrei Caracut.
During the presentation, parents Mozzy Ravena and Danny Ildefonso expressed their gratitude for the program, which gave their children opportunities to play and train.
The other clinics and competitions will be done in Bacolod, Baguio, Davao, Iloilo, Lucena, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Roxas and Zamboanga.
