One can argue that the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) is the biggest grassroots program in the Philippines.
The NBTC, which is already in its 11th year, is a year-round basketball program that identifies and develops outstanding players from both private and public high schools who compete in a nationwide youth basketball tournament.
But it doesn't only cater to players, but to mentors as well. The NBTC has an annual coaches convention where thousands of coaches hailing from different parts of the archipelago converge in one place to learn from and train under some of the greatest local and international coaching minds in the professional and amateur ranks.
Seeing how successful it has become since it was founded in 2006, the Samahang Basketbol Pilipinas has made it its official grassroots program.
The main offering of NBTC is the five month-long tournament which features the top high school teams from around the nation. The national finals highlight the league because it pits champion teams from various leagues in the Philippines, as well as squads from international countries (U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand), against each other.
A press conference was held on Thursday to announce the start of this year's national finals. Before the press conference officially began, Alaska coach Alex Compton, who was assigned to host the affair, grabbed a mic and made his way to the podium. He started off by introducing himself and thanking everybody who came.
He then glanced at his assistant coach and longtime friend, Eric Altamirano, who also happens to be the NBTC founder and executive director. He gave him a smile and spoke into the mic, saying: "This is probably the most number of people who attended our press conference."
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Eric and Alex have indeed come a long way since they started the NBTC. But it took a lot of hard work and brainstorming to get the whole thing up and running. The vision, Alex shares, was born in Eric's living room when the two were talking about the camp they had just concluded.
"A lot of visions have come out of [his living room] but this one seems to be quite fruitful," shares Alex.
The camp the two were chatting about was the Nike Elite Camp back in 2006. Alex, who was still playing in the Philippine Basketball League when this happened, spearheaded the whole thing. Eighty kids, out of a field of 300, aged 14-16 were handpicked to immerse in a six-day training camp. The participants were confined in one area at the Brent School in Mamplasan, Laguna to receive special training.
To make things more intimate and give each player the proper attention, one trainer was assigned to every five camp participants. A few PBA personalities also played a part in that camp, like point guard legend Ronnie Magsanoc and Tim Cone - who was still coaching the Alaska Aces at the time, helping out with the morning and evening sessions.
"We noticed there was a huge disparity between the skills of players from the provinces and those in Manila. We wanted to impart knowledge on the kids and coaches in provincial schools so they don't get left behind by their urban counterparts." Eric Altamirano
The camp proved to be successful. Holding a six-day camp and seeing kids progress first-hand would be an achievement for any normal person. But Eric was far from satisfied. He couldn't accept that there was an end to helping children learn basketball. He knew deep down inside that he and Alex could do so much more.
"He was telling me, 'Alex, the camp was great. But we need to find away to do more to impact these young players. It's nice to be with them for six days but how can we extend that and really have an impact on Philippine basketball, on the young men and coaches?'" Alex recalls.
That's how the idea of building a program like the NBTC initially came about.
"We were thinking of how can we get to the next level and have more of an impact on the kids. We wanted to have a longer hold on the players and coaches," shares Eric.
He knew they had to help kids, as well as the coaches, in the rural areas who weren't getting as much training and didn't have access to proper facilities as the ones who resided in the metro.
"We noticed there was a huge disparity between the skills of players from the provinces and those in Manila. We wanted to impart knowledge on the kids and coaches in provincial schools so they don't get left behind by their urban counterparts."
Eric and Alex and a few others got the program off the ground and began with just three cities in the first year, conducting skills training to young men and women. But again, Eric was unsatisfied with the stat quo and kept looking for a better way to further develop the program, which led to the decision to make it school-based.
"Coach E told me, 'What we're doing is okay. But these kids need a league. We need to give them a venue to play.' And it grew from there," recalls Alex.
Along with the sleepless nights, Eric drowned himself in telephones and cellphones talking to different community sectors and convincing them to assist him, in any way they can, with his plan.
"The things that he did and the way he set it up went unseen by almost everybody but a few," Alex says.
With Eric's perseverance, they were able to tap into local government units (LGU) which helped coordinate with cities, municipalities and schools scattered across the nation. "The LGUs get excited because the NBTC helps out the different sports programs in the provinces and cities nationwide," Eric shares.
That disparity, which he was pointing out earlier, has been reduced significantly over the years since his idea came to fruition.
The NBTC got a huge boost when Eric was able to get SM involved in 2016. The partnership strengthened the program not only on the financial side but it created more awareness. People started to notice what the NBTC was all about. Games were held at the MOA Arena and players got more media exposure than ever.
"The things that he did and the way he set it up went unseen by almost everybody but a few." Alex Compton
The brands and companies that have offered help and became partners of the NBTC have played a major role in sustaining the program, especially now that Eric is targeting over a hundred cities for next year's run. That's why local coaches are fortunate now, thanks to the NBTC it has become a painless task to recruit skillful players, not only from the metro but from the provinces as well.
"Because of NBTC the recruitment area or scope of the coaches became bigger. They can easily recruit players part of the NBTC programs to play college ball," Eric points out. "It's very fulfilling for us, because not only will the players will be able to play basketball, they'll also get a college education, which in turn will help with their future."
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When the press conference was over, several members of the media roamed around the place to get soundbites from the different personalities and guests for their respective stories. Representatives of the brand sponsors were leaving the venue one by one, while staff members of NBTC and their partners each did their part in packing up and thanking their invitees for gracing the event.
Coach Eric, who had just done a few interviews, was seen standing near one of the dining tables, talking to a couple of guys who go by the names of Jeron Teng and Troy Rosario. While taking separate paths to the PBA, both Jeron and Troy are just two of the many who have benefited from Eric's vision and the NBTC's advocacy.
Before carving out a successful stint with the La Salle Green Archers, Jeron spent his high school days at Xavier School in San Juan City, where he was known for scoring 104 points in one game against Grace Christian College. A platform like the UAAP or NCAA would have been essential to the development of a player of such caliber, but Xavier School was not a member of either. Fortunately for Jeron, there was the NBTC.
"It really helped me a lot to become the player that I am today," shares Jeron. "The NBTC gives opportunities to those who don't get much exposure. There are a lot of schools who aren't part of the UAAP or NCAA. From where I came from in high school at Xavier, we didn't have any big tournaments. So the NBTC gave me a platform to show what I have."
Of course now, Jeron continues to work with Eric and Alex on an almost daily basis with Alaska. Before the start of the 2018 season, Alex, who currently is the head coach of the Aces, hired the services of Eric to be one of his assistant coaches and drafted Jeron with the fifth overall pick.
Jeron's PBA career has gotten off to a great start, and he is motivated to continuously get better - something he learned from the NBTC program.
"[The NBTC] taught us discipline and continuous improvement every time. As basketball players, you can't feel... you always have to improve," he says.
"The NBTC taught me to become a hard-working person... The kind of basketball player I am today I owe to the NBTC program." Troy Rosario
Troy, meanwhile, also shares a connection with Eric because of their days together at National University. Troy was one of the integral pieces when the Bulldogs won the championship in 2014, when Coach Eric was still manning the sidelines and calling the shots for NU.
Even though they've gone their separate ways since then, Troy owes a great deal to Eric. And because of the NBTC and the values he picked up from the program, he eventually became someone who has donned the country's colors in international tournaments on numerous occasions.
"The NBTC taught me to become a hard-working person. I remember 10 years ago, this is where I started...before I was part of the U-18 national team," shares Troy. "Since then I've worked so hard to be where I am now. The kind of basketball player I am today I owe to the NBTC program."
The NBTC's initial goal was to help kids learn the sport of basketball, but over the years as it evolved the program has produced players, such as Jeron and Troy, who have made their way to the PBA. This, Alex admits, is a personal achievement for him and Eric.
"When Coach Eric and I started the NBTC, we envisioned seeing a lot of these guys in the PBA. I shared with him one time how it seems that each PBA game there are at least two or three NBTC players on the floor," he says.
"That's ultimately our objective. We want to see these guys grow and get better. By our 15th year, you'll be seeing the PBA populated with former NBTC players. And you'll be able to remember five years from now when you watched them in the national finals, you'll say 'Yeah that kid was good back then.'"
But for Eric, the cherry on top for this whole experience is to one day have a Filipino playing in the National Basketball Association.
"Now we are able to produce PBA players and national team players as well. What I want to see, later on, is for us to produce a player who we can bring to the NBA. That would be our ultimate goal I guess," Eric shares with a smile. "Like a Kai Sotto, who we see as someone who could potentially make it in the NBA."
During his opening remarks at the beginning of the press conference, Eric said he wanted to stress that the NBTC is all about growth, "a point that is often glossed over and ever taken for granted."
Eric started all this to grow the sport of basketball in the Philippines and help youngsters become good at it. However you see it, the NBTC is a success and will continue to be the country's top grassroots program for years to come, whether or not it produces a Filipino player in the NBA in the future.
Eric can remain proud of the things his program has achieved so far. Because after all, the NBTC has made great strides. But it's more than just basketball. It's also about developing skills, building character and raising leaders. And from the looks of it, Eric, thanks to the vision he and Alex gave birth to in his living room, is doing just that.