Nokia D-League to help coaches

Over a hundred local coaches will also benefit from the several workshops during the Nokia National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) D-League that will start December 6, Sunday, at the Jacinto Tiu Gym of the Xavier Sports Center.



NBTC Director Eric Altamirano said it is his personal desire to also help the coaches improve on their skills in the tournament backed by Nokia Pilipinas and TAO Corporation under the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas headed by Manny Pangilinan and executive director Noli Eala.



“We coaches are always getting requests for workshops at these areas. And the Nokia NBTC allows these coaches to learn and immediately pass on and utilize their skills in a competitive tournament environment,” Altamirano said about the tournament backed by San Miguel Purefoods Company Inc., Smart Communications and Burlington.



B-MEG Feeds will support teams in Manila, Batangas, Pampanga, Baguio, Cebu, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro, Bicol, Davao and Bacolod. Magnolia will back teams from Baguio, Iloilo, Davao and Parañaque.



Purefoods-Hormel will be the name for some teams in Pampanga and Batangas while San Mig Coffee joins one team belonging to Pasig/Mandaluyong. Another corporate giant in Smart will be the banner for at least one team in each of the 13 regions as Burlington will carry three teams.



Altamirano said the coaches are trained under a unified and unique format that is inculcated constantly during the practices of the teams until the tournament’s culmination in May.



“This is to ensure that the necessary skills are being taught. The first priority in the Nokia NBTC D-League is always to develop the players for the future,” added Altamirano, who said the practices are to be monitored by NBTC training director Alex Compton.



Practices under the Nokia NBTC environment stress on basketball fundamentals, the repetition of good habits off and on the court and the team game aside from affiliated topics like nutrition.



This is geared towards the tournament’s goal to be a feeder program for varsity squads and teams catering to leagues such as the UAAP, NCAA, Philippine Basketball League, Philippine Basketball Association and the Liga Pilipinas.



Coaches expected to benefit from the program are from La Union, Olongapo (under Sen. Richard Gordon), Tarlac, Cavite, Palawan, Butuan, Antipolo, San Juan, Baguio, Pampanga, Batangas, Laguna, Lucena, Bicol, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Bohol, Dumaguete, Ormoc, GenSan, Davao, Cagayan, Iligan, Zamboanga, Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Marikina, Pasay/Makati/Taguig, Paranaque and Las Pinas/Muntinlupa.