Eric Altamirano, a former Philippine Basketball Association mentor, yesterday said that the goal of the 2007 Nike Elite Basketball Camp is to give more exposure to provincial-based players to give them a chance to play in professional leagues in the future.

Altamirano, head of the International Basketball Academy screening committee, said that they decided to hold tryouts outside of Metro Manila because they wanted to give the aspiring cagers an opportunity to play their game in a higher level. The tryouts for last year's Elite Camp was only held for Manila-based schools, but this year the organizers decided to have the tryouts in different areas including Bacolod City that staged the event at the St. John's Institute Activity Center yesterday.

Sixty high school dribblers from Iloilo and Negros showed their wares with half of them moving into the next phase Iloilo Central Commercial High School has the most number of players advancing with eight.

SJI, University of St. La Salle, the reigning NOPSSCEA and Palarong Panlalawigan champion, Mansilingan Christian Academy, University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, Bacolod Tay Tung High School and St. Joseph's School-Iloilo also saw some of its players in the Top 30.

Altamirano, however, said that the Visayas cagers who will be chosen for the all-expenses-paid Elite Camp at the Brent International School from March 30 to April 4 in Laguna will only be determined after they finish all of the tryouts in other provinces.

The other tryouts will be held in Cebu, Davao, Pampanga, Baguio, Manila and Batangas, he said, adding that only 80 slots nationwide are up for grabs in the six-day camp.

Altamirano said that the IBA, which supports the camp together with Nike, is also holding the tryouts to develop the skills of the players that could help them if they want to continue playing in college. Elite will shoulder the fare, accommodation, food, jerseys, shorts and shoes of the cagers who will be included in the camp that has calendared skill-building workshops, scrimmages, truth talk sessions and all-star game, he said. *CIT

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