"Go Out and Play!" MANILA RSC for Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Presented by Alaska

To live life to the fullest, to its entirety, active lifestyle is not a choice, but a must! Aside from regular exercise and moving as much as possible, sports as a recreation is a good way of achieving the active lifestyle as it provides relief and give a sense of relaxation in a life of routine, monotonous daily activities while instilling the sportive attitude - of lifting up the burden of life struggle on a positive note. It is indeed more than essential in maintaining good health and physical fitness, it also encourages the growth of working as a unit. No man is an island is a cliche that is absolutely true, and sports - though vast in methods and diversities, keeps the human interaction going.

After all, a healthy nation is always a wealthy nation. By that, I am grateful that local private companies like Alaska Milk has the initiative to sow the seed of hope for a better future and encouragement to live a healthier lifestyle through sports events not just to the young minds, but to all Filipinos. On that note, Alaska is doing sports festivities for 20 years in Alaska Football Power Camps and Cups, Alaska IronKids Triathlon, Alaska Family Run, Alaska Cycle Philippines, Alaska Aces, and Alaska Basketball for nine consecutive years! What a truly dedicated and extensive program!

• The Organizer, Presenting Partner, Official Partners

Alaska Milk partners with excellent local and international organizations who shares the same objectives, visions and values, for this particular program, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Spalding, as a Supporting Partner. In this blog post, I'll be sharing to you first-hand experience in our event coverage of the fourth and last leg of Regional Selection Camp for Manila held at Don Bosco Makati last weekend, April 9-10. Regional Selection Camps (RSC) is where Alaska and NBA will be selecting potential boys and girls that will ranked up and participate on the National Training Camp.

Since 2007, more than 100,000 students, parents, and coaches have benefited through Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA activities including camps, coach clinics, NBA outreach activities, television programs and digital initiatives. One of the things I learned to love about Alaska Milk's sports festivals, just like this Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Basketball Program is that, it is free and open to all players aged 10 - 14. With this kinds of program,

Poverty will not hinder a potential sports star from rising!

An ideal way of leading the youth to aim higher and reach their goals despite of financial deprivation. An immense boost to make young men and women excel in the field of sports they have chosen, to prove their worth and hence be on top of the ladder. In this case, to be part of the National Training Camp (NTC) and have the elusive NBA experience trip!

Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA Philippines 2016 is organized by NBA in partnership with Alaska and official partners: Cloudfone, Globe Telecom and Gatorade as the official Hydrating Station. Previous Regional Selection Camps were held on Baguio, Bukidnon, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Dagupan, Davao, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Metro Manila, and on first-time locations such as Batangas, Catanduanes and Cavite for GMA.

• The Guardians and Coaches

Sports, in this particular event, Basketball is fundamental in the development of children and the young. The Guardians, usually parents and teachers are their first influence to choose an active lifestyle. And last Saturday on the fourth Regional Selection Camp for Manila, in the myriads of children trying out for the game, are parents and teachers to guide, cheer, and support them. Support coming from teachers, friends and family have a positive impact on children's motivation and boost their enjoyment in the game.

Hard work. Dedication.

In any sports, coaches has a great number of responsibilities - legal, moral and ethical. Being the moral of the team, the coach must show flexibility and compassion to keep the team together. It also follows that he must know the rules and be the one to follow them first. Being a role model, his responsibilities also include that of molding and developing potential individual skills while utilizing the group skillfully to act as one team. The coach also has the responsibility to secure the safety of his athletes while in his care. The Regional Selection Camp will never be a success without the coaches.

Meet Coach Ian Canamo. He, like all the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Coaches were volunteers. He is passionate about Basketball and Alaska Milk's mission to make children "go out and play" made him to self-imposed. Through Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Program, he can share his skills, talent and knowledge.

Vertical Leap. One of the basketball drills for the young ballers is the Vertical Jump Test or simply the Sargent Jump that measures leg muscle power.

In all of this, coaches and guardians generally focuses on encouraging and pushing the players to strive for the next level, for the best that is out there. The players, children are the focal point of attention and their sports ability can breakthrough because of their support team.

• The Young Ballers

Alaska Milk recognizes the need of Filipino children for proper nutrition and is committed to help provide that proper nutrition through their leading brands. More than proper nutrition, Alaska Milk also believes that active lifestyle is needed in order to shape and nurture healthier children. Through sports, boys and girls learn certain positive character traits that could later on help them be better in all aspects of their lives. Better attendance, better grades, better behavior, better students in school with lesser trouble and fewer problems, better citizenship in the community, and most of all, better education - an upgrade to college (with a possibility of scholarship for sports).

On Day 1, Saturday, a total of 1,114 boys and girls (1030 boys, 84 girls) went to Don Bosco Technical Institute in Manila to take part in the program where their basketball skills were tested via different basketball drills. This is the biggest number of RSC participants so far in the nine-year history of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Philippines presented by Alaska.

Boys. Students. Players. Comrades.

Children with budding passion.

While waiting for their turn. Discipline.

Perseverance. Determination.

A shot at having their skills tested, Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA imparts a sense of discipline while achieving the goal of camaraderie among players, teachers, and coaches. Friendly games that teaches value of time (i.e., to be in time during the program, inside the court during the game) and perseverance (i.e., to get open for a pass to shoot a ball, defense against opponents by blocking the shot) while channeling their energy and vigor to make leisure time in Basketball worthwhile (fun, happiness, satisfaction). Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA is also a channel for students to becoming adventurous, courageous but with precautions (avoiding violations in court including technical foul which does not involve any foul moves but is about the manners and attitude during the game).

Alaska Milk encourages children to go out and play through its Nutrition. Action. Champion. programs.

Meet try-out players from UST-EHS, Jermaine Aguilar and Sean Castillo. Jermaine also known as Jacx by his friends, and his classmate Sean loves to play basketball among other outdoor games in their free time, and at the school gym right after class every afternoon. Playing basketball as a video game is not foreign to these young lads, but playing it for real is the real deal! And Alaska Milk through sports program Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA just gave them the right push to make a move closer to their dreams coming true.

It's a step towards forward.

At the end of the day, 40 boys and 24 girls were chosen to return for Day 2 of the camp where amongst them, the RSC Manila representatives to the National Training Camp will be chosen.

"You can show people what you're made of at an early age, and they can watch you grow. For me, my brand is connected to my culture, and that will always be a part of me. It's not just about basketball. It's as much about my family as anything." - Jr. NBA Philippines 2011 All-Star Kobe Lorenzo Paras

On Day 2, the basketball clinic was held in the morning and in the afternoon where the scrimmages, were the boys and girls were grouped into teams and were made to play sets of basketball games where they can apply all that they have learned from day 1 and from the basketball clinic in the morning.

At the end of Day 2, those who qualified for the NTC were announced:

Girls: (8)

Dianne Camille Nolasco
Lalaine Gonzales
Carly Monreal
Lindsey Nacional
Magda Lioui Flores
Ma Cecilia Quilenderino
Princess Marie Villarin
Jonalyn Bongalos

Boys: (16)
Mark Glenn Gabon
Luis Gabriel Aguila
Anjelo Raphael Argente
Jhondhel Austria
Jearico Nunez
Kai Zachary Sotto
Andrei Philip Lechoncito
Mark Nicole Lucban
Reich Randell Villegas
Prince Junnell De Belen
Pauloh Villarin
Patrick Lance Inting
Jericho Ross Paglinawan
Miguel Rey Luis Tan
Devon Dein Diez
Russel Ducanes

Congratulations to the 16 boys and 8 girls from the NCR who will join the regional finalists from Baguio, Davao and Cebu plus the Alaska Power Campers in the National Training Camp on April 22-24, 2016 on SM Mall of Asia and Don Bosco Makati.

With proper training, these young hopefuls will surely have the greatest educational value for sports - to learn, provide stimulation for study, maintain physical fitness and paid-off hard work. We can always remember that it is not the sound and the fury that counts, it is the effort in the right direction that marks. Keeping this in heart and mind, it is now the time to spot out the next sports talents in Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Basketball Program 2016!

That's a wrap for the Manila Regional Selection Camp of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Philippines 2016 presented by Alaska. Moving on to the next phase, it is high time to battle and be the champion! See you there!