Just when we thought Kamaka Hepa was the best Filipino-American to ever step foot in the SM-NBTC tournament, FilAm Sports USA team brings in the No. 1 ranked sophomore high school player in the United States – Jalen Green. While Hepa is a 6’9” versatile guard, with sick guard skills and long-range shooting, Green is in a class of his own, with unthinkable athleticism and attack methods that easily wreck defenses. In a semis loss to eventual 2018 NBTC champion National University, Green dropped an eye-popping 51 points, along with 12 rebounds, on the Bullpups. The 6’5” shooting guard from Fresno, California also suited up for the USA under-16 national team that won the gold in last year’s FIBA U16 Americas Championship, averaging 9.8 points on 54.8% field goal shooting. In the championship game, Green scored 13 markers to help the Americans wallop the Canadians, 111-60. The San Joaquin Memorial High School star also wowed the NBTC crowd with his emphatic slam dunks, including one over 7’1” Kai Sotto in the All-Star game.
FilAm Sports USA founder and head coach Simeon “Bong” Ulep, the same guy who brought Hepa last year, assembled a more formidable crew this year built around Green. The other topnotch Fil-Ams in Ulep’s squad were ace point guard Kihei Clark from Woodland Hills, California and ultra athletic guard Elijah Jackson from Seattle, Washington. Both players have already been recruited by NCAA Division 1 schools in the States, with Clark going to University of Virginia Arlington and Jackson to Eastern Washington University. The other members are Russel Ayala (New Jersey), Brandon Wilson (California), Andrew Sanderson from (Virginia), Shaun De Leon from (New York), and Paul Garcia from (Maryland). FilAm Sports is the first guest team to make it to the NBTC semis in three years. The other guest teams are from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Ulep plans to bring other highly touted Fil-Ams to the native land in the near future, hopefully to help the Gilas National Team program. He said there are more untapped five-star high school players with Pinoy lineage all over the States that he hopes to bring to the islands soon. A former Saint Louis University varsity from Baguio City before joining the United States Army, Ulep co-founded FilAm Sports USA (formerly FilAm Sports NJ) in 2005 to discover new basketball talents all over America that might have a future in hoops in the Philippines, and even possibly play for the National Team. With the help of Durham Crossover of Canada head Mike Cruz, Ulep got the invitation from NBTC chief Eric Altamirano to join the tournament. “Joining the NBTC tourney was a great experience for all of us but especially to the players, most of whom are first-time visitors in their parents’ homeland. They met their relatives for the very first time and also got to taste the beautiful Filipino culture, including the food and the warmth of the Filipino basketball fans.” He was assisted by coach Andrew Guathier and sponsored by Philippine Airlines, Ria Money Transfer, Dr. Edelgard Ulep and Mr. Francis Rubio in the NBTC.
A medical professional from New Jersey, Ulep finds time for his passion that is basketball, with much support from his family. Daughter Aimee is FilAm Sports USA Project Director. He is also an assistant coach to Mike Kearney at the Donovan Catholic High School. Ulep is looking forward to forming a 12-man solid roster for next year’s NBTC tournament. This year, he was only able to bring in eight players as the other candidates had previous commitments. The short rotation became a huge factor in their semis defeat to the Bullpups. Perhaps next year, Ulep will come up with more Greens and Hepas.
Comments