There could be another young basketball star out there as talented as Jalen Green when the National Basketball Training Center returns.
NBTC founder Eric Altamirano said this with two weeks to go before action gets going in the Smart-NBTC national finals from March 15 to 19 at the Mall of Asian in Pasay City.
“We hope so, marami kasing darating,” said Altamirano of the five-day cagefest featuring 24 teams coming from the best high school teams and youth clubs in the country and abroad.
It will be recalled that Green played for the FilAm Sports USA team and went to the Philippines for the NBTC games in 2018 and 2019, drawing the admiration of Filipino fans for his great moves and plays.
Green was drafted two years later in the NBA by the Houston Rockets and has been with for them ever since.
Altamirano said discovering the best talents here and abroad will mark the return of competitions later this month.
“After three years of hiatus, we couldn’t be any more thrilled to bring the NBTC back. It has always been our mission to put the spotlight on the grassroots level of Philippine basketball,” sad Altamirano, who noted that the Fil Am Sports squad is coming back again with a younger generation for Filipino-heritage players.
Altamirano talked about the tournament during a press conference at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Thursday, with SM Prime chairman Hans Sy, SMART first vice president and head of Sports Jude Turcuato, Gilas Pilipinas team manager Butch Antonio and Under Armour Senior Marketing Manager Jojo Neri-Estacio in attendance.