NORMAN Black has been around the highest levels of basketball for decades, winning multiple championships both as a player and as a coach, be it in the PBA or the UAAP or the Southeast Asian Games where he's slated to make a comeback.
But all that experience hasn't kept him from being dazzled by the amount of talent on display in a Las Vegas caravan hosted by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) as part of its talent identification and development program.
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"There are at least 10 kids in that camp who can play for the national team in the future, in my opinion," said the PBA grand slam coach. "But of course, they still have to prove themselves against our homegrown talent."
Black ran the Vegas camp in his role as the head of the SBP grassroots program for player identification and development. Joining him were LA Tenorio, coach of the Gilas Youth team, and longtime Gilas Women coach Pat Aquino.
The SBP coaches put 25 boys and 25 girls through their paces in the first two days at the Impact Center, testing their athletic ability and shooting before they were put through situational drills and later on 5-on-5 scrimmages.
The next four days were earmarked for an SBP showcase tournament at the Tarkanian Center featuring six boys and five girls teams. Fil Am Nation won the girls championship while Crossover Canada won the boys division.
More than the results, what caught the eye of Black and his fellow SBP coaches were a number of standout players - all with Filipino blood and all aged below 16, meaning they have an opportunity to secure Philippine passports, if they don't have one yet, and be eligible to play for future Gilas teams as locals.
Part of the caravan headed by SBP executive director Erika Dy was a representative from the Los Angeles consulate who advised the players and their parents on their respective cases, with regards to securing Philippine passports.
"We are in the process of helping those who need Philippine passports. We even brought in a member of the Philippine consulate in LA to talk to the parents and coaches about their individual cases," said Black.
"So even if these kids won’t be eligible for the coming [Fiba Under-16 Asia Cup] in Mongolia, hopefully they will be able to join the Gilas Youth pool in the future," he added.
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Among the standouts were Chase Robertson, a tall point guard at 6-5, Jordan Mize, Chase Robertson, Matthew Jerrigan, Lucas Clark, Brian Stevenson, Tyler Merto, Hunter Caplin, point guard Liam Bunnalian, and Fil Nation's Kai Patton, who Black swore is a certified future star.
"Mize, Robertson, Jerrigan, Clark, Stevenson and Merto all stand at least 6’5 to 6’7," the former Meralco coach said. "Caplin is the best shooter, Bunnalian probably the best point guard, while Patton is a big-time athlete along with Robertson and Mize."
The potential is there; the first step has been made, Now the next step is to start the process of making them eligible to play for the national team in the future.
"Facing us now is the challenge of them going through the process of obtaining Philippine passports," Black said. "All of them have Philippine blood through their parents or grandparents but we need them to get passports preferably before the age of 16.
"Very few of them presently have one."
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