A TOTAL of 39 aspirants joined the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP)-Escandor Davao Selection Tryouts in a bid to discover a selection team for the 2018 Kadayawan Invitational Basketball Tournament Davao City Saturday afternoon at the Genesis 88 Gym at Ecoland.
Cagers who participated in the event were mostly from the collegiate and commercial levels although some were former Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) players and others were veterans of commercial leagues. Beginners also took part in the two-hour drills and scrimmage.
But SBP executive program officer Ronel Leuterio, who facilitated the tryouts, stressed that players must be coachable, disciplined, and hardworking and of good moral character.
"We are coming up with a team reflective of what Davao City is and what Davao City has. We don't care if you are good on the hard court but if you don't have those traits then you are still not qualified in the team," the multi-titled coach said.
He also reiterated his famous qoute to encourage the participants: "There's always joy on the process of becoming a better person than you were yesterday."
The team will introduce a never-before-seen system in contrast to what present basketball games are, which Leuterio believes will be very useful not only for Davao City but in the Philippine basketball as well.
Former De La Salle University Green Archers and Ateneo de Davao University Blue Knights coach Miggy Solitaria, meanwhile, urged the participants to embrace the culture and the new system.
"I am also a player before like you. I know what you are doing here (scrimmage and drills) makes you feel uncomfortable but we need to unlearn things we learned and must be willing to sacrifice our individual strengths to build a great team," Solitaria said.
The second day of tryout was held Sunday, May 20, at the same venue.