MANILA, Philippines ? In a country obsessed with basketball, you?ve got to start young if you want to get into the big leagues when you graduate. In fact, you?ve got to start even younger if you want to get into college basketball and play in the UAAP or the NCAA games.

But 13 young boys from all over the country are getting a taste of the hard court on a professional level, as they were chosen out of 200 players to be a part of the Nokia Pilipinas Youth Team, a three-year program of the Tao Corporation and Nokia Philippines. The boys are being trained to represent the Philippines in international junior competitions.

With head coach Eric Altamirano, assistant coaches Joey Guanio, Vic Ycasiano and Mon Jose, and strength and conditioning coach Dan Rose, the boys are getting geared to play a couple of games this year. The team is backed by Jun Sy, president of Tao Corporation, and William Hamilton Whyte, Nokia Philippines? country general manager, and Joel Lopa, team manager and spokesperson.

Balancing school and training, the boys have to wake up really early to train and still attend classes and ensure that they have no failing marks in any subject or else they?ll be booted out of their basketball boot camp. They require discipline and passion if they want a chance to compete abroad carrying their country?s flag.

Already, Altamirano has expressed difficulty in getting the boys together for practice because of conflicting school schedules, and can?t wait for summer when they are all his.

In fact, Nokia and the Tao Corporation are sending the boys to Australia to attend the Australian Institute of Sports in preparation for their tournaments later in the year.

Training day

?It?s very challenging,? says Altamirano, when asked about how difficult is it coaching kids of this age level. All of them are under 16 years old, after all. ?In the professional level, it?s all about motivating them,? he adds.

?In terms of what they know in basketball, they know a lot already,? Altamirano said. ?It?s about getting the best out of your players. When it comes to these kids, it entails a lot of teaching, instilling a lot of discipline. They still don?t know the meaning of hard work and work ethics. We have to be patient with them.?

In fact, on this particular training day, he has asked each of the players to submit a short essay on excellence. Apparently, it?s not just on-court technique that has been instilled into these young boys, but off-court attitude as well.

These kids are the best of the best of their age group in the country, and it will be the first time the Philippines will be sending a team to compete in international junior men?s basketball. Colleges are already watching out for them and are sending feelers, or asking them to enroll in their campus and are just eagerly waiting for them to graduate. Not only will they have professional training in their resumes, but competition experience on an international level as well, making their possibility of being a varsity star in the future much more possible.

But for now, they are coach Altamirano?s team. ?Our primary goal right now is to get them to play together, to work as a team,? the coach said.

?What?s great about this team is that no one is a superstar. They don?t have that mentality. They are helping each other.?

And when the teamwork is in place, the next challenge is developing an on-court strategy. ?In terms of competition, looking at this team, it?s not really a tall team,? the coach said.

Most of these kids are taller than my 5?8? frame, and they haven?t stopped growing yet, but they are tall only in Philippine standards and not in the international playing field.

?We only have one 6?5? and a few 6-footers,? said Altamirano. ?The strength of this team is their speed and their basketball IQ. The kids of this team are very smart.?

The kids already had a weekend to train in Subic courtesy of Tao Corporation and Nokia Philippines. Soon, when classes end, they?ll go on training overdrive.

Last year?s team bagged the 2008 South East Asian Basketball Association Junior Men?s Tournament in Malaysia, and placed seventh in the Asian Youth Championship. With hard work and training, the new batch may do even better this year.