BACOLOD City – Paul Barcelona is headed to Tokyo, Japan after being selected as one of Philippines’ representatives in the Jr. NBA Asia from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2.
The Bacolod City native is “grateful and honored” to be selected in the event, where the standouts will have a chance to qualify to the Jr. NBA World.
“I can say that this will be one of my greatest experiences as a student athlete,” Barcelona told Panay News on Tuesday. “This will help me to further improve my fundamental basketball skills.”
“I look forward for a great experience and to meet with other fellow youth basketball athletes from other countries,” added the St. John’s Institute-Bacolod standout.
According to Pete Barcelona, Paul’s father, his son first earned an invite to Jr. NBA Manila following his impressive showing in the virtual NBA summer camp skills competition during the pandemic.
“Last May, we were invited by coach Mark Solano to join Jr NBA League in Manila, where Paul earned the JR. NBA Asia qualification after making it to top 3 in the competition,” Pete said.
He added: “As his father, I share with his dreams and passion on this sport. I am excited to this upcoming event and hopefully this will open door for more great opportunities in his future.”
Aside from ruling the virtual NBA summer event, the 14-year-old Paul also spend the past two years playing for Talisay Sharks’ 3×3 and 5×5 basketball squad.
The 6-foot Paul, who is being managed by Virtual Playground, thanked the Sharks, led by coach Ryan Hugnatan, for personally training him that led to improvement of his basketball skills.
“I am truly grateful to the people who believed and supported my sports. And i hope to inspire also young ballers to continue pursuing their goals,” Paul said./PN
