05/23/2025
Better days....PYD Dreamers International
Crossover continued to grow and expand in 2017. This was the year we got affiliated with Ontario Basketball with the help of my colleagues at OBA. We lost Mark but gained Leslie. Our NBTC participation has gained a lot of interest. Many reached out to the NBTC leadership to convince and wrest representation but to no avail. And with great enthusiasm we were invited once again to the NBTC National High School Basketball Championship to represent Canada. This time FilAm Sports USA, Homegrown Australia and Camp David New Zealand joined the fray as international teams participating. And with the lessons learned in 2016 I only brought a smaller delegation. Chew, Andre, Evyn and Alvin returned with newly recruited Nick, Ben, Max and Brendon as additional players. Dome and Kuya Wallie became part of the coaching staff this time. We were grouped with Mapua and New Zealand. Here we experienced the Haka by the Kiwis and with such friendly delight beat them on the game. Our game against Mapua was like a repeat of last year but this time we beat ourselves by being over confident. Ahead by a mile in the 4th Mapua clawed back after we lost Ben due to foul. We succumbed to their pressure defense and did not convert on our last play to lose by a mere point in regulation. However despite our elimination the atmosphere was much different from the previous year. We got eliminated but enjoyed the tournament. No complaints and all was happy and contented. Evyn, Ben, Robert and Chew got interest from colleges and universities. After NBTC we head to Lucban Quezon to play for another international tournament, The PYD Dreamers International. I got the invite through a fellow Kumbento Boy Jay Geronimo who introduced me to PYD Founder Rhuel Beaujing Acot. There we played against local selections and Guam Teams at the famous Batis Aramin Resort owned by Gerts-Chicoy Valde-Capistrano. I must admit it was a blast as we enjoyed playing and at the same time our stay at the resort. We won the 18U division against the defending champs from Guam - Friars. Our players were like rockstars with lots of fans asking pictures with the team. With no distractions and all cooperating I might say this is one of the better days trip back to the Philippines.
