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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Friday, April 28, 2017
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CALAMA-AN. Playing a key role in Western Visayas’ bid for Palarong Pambansa secondary boys basketball victory.
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SAN JOSE, Antique – Western Visayas big man Ryan Calama-an has drawn the attention of a handful of head coaches from Manila-based schools with his impressive performance in the 60th Palarong Pambansa secondary boys basketball.
Western Visayas head coach Rodel Camacho said several head coaches of universities in Manila approached him as they tried to lure Calama-an to their teams.
Camacho said among those who reach out to him were Mapua Cardinals head coach Atoy Co, Adamson Baby Falcons mentor Mike Fermin, and some members of the National University (NU) Bullpups coaching staff.
“May mga ilang coaches na lumapit sa akin tinatanong kung available iyong mga big man sa team namin,” Camacho told Panay News. “Pero most of them si Ryan (Calama-an) talaga ang tinatanong.”
Calama-an has previously tried out and was accepted by the NCAA juniors team La Salle Greenhills Grennies, but the Leon, Iloilo native forward seemed to have a change of heart, according to Camacho.
“He was thinking twice [kasi] kapag sa La Salle siya pumasok, babalik siya sa Grade 11, unlike [in] other schools maggre-Grade 12 na siya,” Camacho said.
“Just recently nag-tryout rin siya in front of the NU coaching staff dito sa Antique and they were impressed with Ryan,” he added. “Sa ngayon hindi pa nakakapag-decide si Ryan. Maybe after ng Palaro.”
Camacho, who is also Calama-an’s head coach at Sta. Clarita International School, said he is happy with the attention given to his star player and will not stop him if he would want to play in Manila.
“I am happy for Ryan dahil big opportunity ito sa kanya na maglaro sa Manila. And it will put him closer to playing for UAAP or NCAA in college, and then in the PBA,” Camacho said.
Calama-an will be a “big loss” to Sta. Clarita if he moves to the Philippine capital, but “we will just fill that void by tapping some of our Team B players,” said the Ilonggo coach. “We have some rookies coming to the team.”
Calama-an played a pivotal role in his team’s championship bids in the 2016 Iloilo Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) and 2017 Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA) meets.
He was also a member of the Iloilo basketball squad that took home the championship in the Visayas leg and silver in the national level of the Batang PBA tournament last year.
In this year’s Palaro, Calama-an played through an ankle sprain to lead Western Visayas to the quarterfinals in the secondary boys basketball. They won over Caraga and moved to the semifinals where it will face Calabarzon./PN
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