THERE was a time in the 1960s 1970s and even 1980s when 10-year-old to 12-year-old school-based athletes taking part in official basketball competitions were designated by organizers to play in the derisively-sounding Mosquito Division, if not the so-called Mini Division.
Moreover, their games served only as “appetizers” to the major high school cage tournaments.
Nowadays, things are much different. The young ‘uns are lording it over.
True to the declaration that “youth be served,” a number of basketball tournaments for students-athletes from ages 10 to 12 (some even as young as eight or nine years old) have gained importance so much so that they are sometimes the main dish in the playdate menu of some leagues.
They now truly belong in the local cage scene, prominently belonging to what is friendly termed as the Developmental Division.
For those youthful ballers that are in the 13-to-14 age range, there’s also the Aspirants Division.
They are no longer the Mosquitoes or the Minis; they now are actually the metamorphosing princes of the game that have been trained to assume the throne in their respective kingdoms in the near future.
On this aspect, the Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association (PCYAA) leads the way in the development of youthful student-athletes, not only in basketball but also in other sports such as girls volleyball, table tennis and chess.
The PCYAA, now in its fourth year of existence, offers homegrown Chinese-Filipino student-athletes a forum to showcase their athletic skills.
“Through sports, the association aims to hone its members into better individuals during their academic years and even transform them into productive model citizens in society down the road,” said Milton Yu, the Sports Director and Prefect of Discipline at Uno High School, one on the eight PCYAA member schools.
In addition to Uno, other high schools that make up the grassroots-based sports association are this year’s host Grace Christian College, Saint Jude Catholic School, Philippine Cultural College, Jubilee Christian Academy, Pace Academy, Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy and Saint Peter the Apostle School.
Meanwhile, the Saint Jude Catholic School 12-and-under basketball team defeated Pace Academy, 2-0, in the best-of-three finals of the PCYAA Developmental Division for its third consecutive championship. (Note that previous to this year, the Developmental Division was composed of athletes aged 11 and below.)
In 2015, the young Judenites also downed their Pacers counterparts, 2-0, in the finals via huge margins (83-40 and 74-48).
The Judenites, who finished with a lily-white 10-0 win-loss record overall this season, were bannered by four kids who averaged twin-digit scores during their 53-43 and 50-45 victories over the Pacers in their championship-series rematch – Jaezen Shandy Ngo (13.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.0 spg), Kendrick Densy Dela Cruz (13.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 3.0 spg), Kobe Vincent Chong (11.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.5 spg) and Keann Colin Lusong (10.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg).
Other members of the SJCS’ back-to-back-to-back title squad are Jon Ivan Zheng (2.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg), John Benedict Tan (1.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.5 spg), Rainiel Eron Chiong, Colin Michael Kohchet-Chua, Christian Kobe Dela Cruz, Enrico Zachiel Feliciano, Denzel Dagdag, Albert Dizon, Dwyane Sebastian Cordoves, Joshua Aaron Chu and Rafael Jacque Balila.
Coaching the team were Ed Lorenz La Torre and his assistant Jesus Flores.
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