Elite 60 Development Camp directors Rob Beveridge, left, and Eric Altamirano, second from right, pose together with SBP deputy director and Gilas Pilipinas team manager Butch Antonio, second from left, and Gilas and Batang Gilas assistant coach Josh Reyes, right, during the press launch of the second Elite 60 Development Camp at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Pasig City. (Photo by Ivan Saldajeno)
MANILA -- The Elite 60 Development Camp is back, and this time, it will cater to the younger basketball players around the world.
The camp, spearheaded by multi-titled coach Eric Altamirano, teamed up with the SBP (Samahang Basketbol ng Piilipinas) to put up an under-16 edition.
"If we go to the lower age groups, we know almost next to nothing. Starting the elite training at a younger age will help fast-track their skills," said Altamirano during the press launch of the four-day camp at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant inside the Capitol Commons Complex in Pasig on Thursday.
The camp has actually begun at the Colegio de San Agustin Gym in Makati and will run through the weekend.
Joining Altamirano in this camp is former Australian national team coach Rob Beveridge, who serves as the camp director.
"I am really excited about coming back to the Philippines," said Beveridge, who now acts as a consultant for Alaska, which Altamirano and camp partner Alex Compton handle. "This year, I look forward to working with a younger group of athletes and to really hone their individual fundamentals as well as teaching team concepts."
The partnership with SBP enables the NSA to use the said camp as a seed box for potential Batang Gilas players for the U-16 and U-18 divisions.
"The objective is for our national coach for the U-16 and U-18 to see sino ba ang mga potential players from the camp," continued Altamirano.
He also bared that the top two players among the 60 who were called up from regional selection camps in Cagayan De Oro, Cebu, Calamba, and San Fernando, Pampanga will get a chance to show their wares in America.
"This July, out of the youth campers, we are going to choose two players that will be brought to the [United] States, and it's actually a month-long training," Altamirano said. "We'll cover everything from the accommodation to the training." (PNA)
