NABA 2009 Junior Division Preview and Power Rankings

NABA 2009 Junior Division Preview and Power Rankings:

The Junior (16&U // 17U) Division always seems to be popular and packs in a lot of talent. This division mirrors the NABA 2007 Bantam Division when Dolce hosted the tournament. In this division, the big names come together. The poster boys and franchise players of different organizations clash, and there’s quite the amount from the U.S. and all over eastern Canada. Between the defending champions of the North Jersey powerhouse, to the runnerup and hosts of Scarborough; To the empires of Dolce-Toronto and SIPAG-NY, and the rebuilding but fierce North York squad, the talented teams accumulate over the years and the reach for the championship seems more difficult to achieve. Lets pick apart all the favorites, breakdown the contenders and bring out the sleepers.

Who else but to start with the Junior division defending champions, North Jersey. When NABA heads of this division hear ‘North Jersey’, the franchise player and one of the best Fil-Am’s on the East Coast come to mind, AJ Pizon.

In the NABA 2007 Bantam division, he carried his team of all role players to 3rd place. In NABA 2008, as one of the younger members he helped not only win the Junior division, but he earned the Junior division MVP honors. This year, him as well one other player, Chris Barsatan, from the Junior Division 2008 Championship team stay down, and are reinforced by North Jersey prospects as well as acquisitions from SIPAG, from players to their coaching staff. This past Spring-Summer season in preparation for NABA, the North Jersey Juniors participated in the SIPAG HS League Invitational, the Kalahi Juvenile Summer Invitational, and the Boston MASAE Invitational for Youth, losing only one game by one point but winning everything else including playoffs and Championships. The question is, is this team capable of getting past the Canadian power houses of Dolce, North York and Scarborough? The difference between this North Jersey Juniors team, and the North Jersey 2007 Bantam team, is that AJ doesn’t need to score the bulk anymore to win games.

Lets move on to the Junior division 2008 Runner up and hosts, the Scarborough Falcons. This team is ran by journeyman and court General Jeremiah Valmadrid. Their longtime Point guard has been through it all, from big wins to tough losses. A hungry speedster with a strong wingman in Jeff Ortiz, they are one of the fastest backcourts in the Junior Division. Rumor has it that longtime Brampton star player, Griffen Fernandez, will also be joining them to help the hosts gun for a NABA championship.

If so, Scarborough could sport a strong 3 guard lineup to start or finish the game, a 3 guard lineup with winning experience and a lot of hunger. In NABA 2007, their Bantam team was eliminated by AJ and North Jersey. One thing i believe might catch up to them is their lack of depth at the forward position. But honestly, that could be the problem for all the favorites and powerhouse teams, as majority of the teams revolve around really strong guard play. In Scarborough’s case, if their bigmen can do their jobs consistently, with rebounding and boxing out, they will definitely go far in the tournament. They are without a doubt, a top 3 team.

Why jump around when we could continue down the line of results from the Junior division of NABA 2008? The team that finished 3rd place was the Dolce-Toronto empire. They had it all, depth, size, strong guard play and a lot

of heart. Let me tell you something about this team, i don’t think its any different this year. This year’s Dolce-Toronto team sports some of the best players in the GTA, starting with Fil-Can Phenom Kevin Ramos. Amongst the power house teams, they might be the team that has the deepest bench, as well as most athletic. As the GMA-Pinoy Allstar Toronto team splits, Dolce picks up some of their core players, and adds some of the players that put Brampton FAAB on the map, as Kevin Ramo’s gets reinforced by his buddies Chris Baltazar, and Patrick ‘Ace’ Plamenco. They will be trusting the bigman responsibilities with forward prospect Janzen Calaoa acting as the main enforcer. The team is topped off by guard/big man, AC Hagoriles, one of the most athletic players in the Junior division. Dolce might have finished 3rd in the NABA 2008 Junior division, but they can easily be one of the top teams to contend for a championship this year. Wait til the power rankings.

Now we can skip around the division, and go straight to where all the other GMA-Pinoy Toronto Allstars went to, North York. So far, we featured  AJ Pizon with North Jersey, Jeremiah Valmadrid with the Falcons, Kevin Ramos with Dolce, and leading the way for North York is none other than Jenno Almasol making his return to the North York organization. Jenno got a taste

of 2nd place two years in a row, with North York in NABA 2007 losing to Dolce, and then with the Falcons in NABA 2008 losing to North Jersey. Could this be the year he finally achieves the championship hardware? Jenno really

first caught the eyes and hearts of NABA fans in NABA 2005 when he pulled the ‘One-Man-Army’ stunt and helped carry his North York peewee team to 3rd place. This year, Jenno is reinforced by GMA-Pinoy Toronto Allstar guards, RJ Beloso and Cyle Egamino. Their frontcourt is powered by enforcer, Jerome Yumul and big man Jack Medina. This team also has the mechanics and man power to win a championship, and could be gunning for a nemesis match up with Dolce-Toronto.

That takes care of the top 4 contenders, lets now take a look at the contenders that consist of the 5-7 spots in no particular order, starting with Montreal-Marquis. When we hear Montreal Marquis, we think Erwin Agana. Last year, he stayed near his hometown to play in the PIBNA tournament, but in NABA 2007 he helped carry Montreal to the 2nd day. Key phrase being just, “2nd day”. Its not that Erwin doesn’t have the support to get far in the tournament, but more of the lack of coaching. I saw his team have a talented roster back in ’07, and failed to make adjustments vs. North Jersey who eliminated them. If Montreal gets their system together, and fields a strong supporting cast around Erwin, they could go far in the tournament because unless they have drastic pickups, like a new face that could act as a franchise wingman, i don’t see Montreal getting past the semi’s if they go that far. They are good enough to be a top 5-6 team though. Stay tuned for the power rankings.

Another contender that is worth mentioning is Detroit. In NABA ’07 their Bantam team was blessed by the basketball Gods to be matched up against weak teams their first two games. It wasn’t until they met North York and Scarborough when they felt the real competition. But in NABA ’08, they sported a strong junior team that gave North Jersey a run for their money in their 1st or 2nd game. I’m uncertain of the personnel they could sport this year, but the one half-puti that carried their team in ’07 also played in the Junior division and was matched up well vs. AJ Pizon. I believe his name could be Justin/Christin Pilarski. Swift player with an aggressive scoring attitude. Give him strong role players and Detroit could be one of the sleepers in the division. Only time will tell.

Mississauga’s Bantam team in 2007 got the other end of the blessings, when they were given bad luck and were matched against North York and then Scarborough. They fielded a very athletic team with size. But like Montreal, lacked the coaching personnel to make them a contender. They are worth mentioning amongst the contenders because of their height and athleticism. If they get the right coach and a decent ball handler they could survive the 2nd day.

As the article rounds up, we close it out with the sleepers of the tournament who happen to be mostly Fil-Am teams. Lets start with the team with the most prized history amongst them all with SIPAG-NY. SIPAG bantam in ’07 had a disappointed 3 game exit, and in NABA 2008, their Junior team had a disappointing 4 game exit losing to arch rivals Dolce-Toronto. This year, losing most of their core guys, they regroup and build a team around prize player, big man Carlo DeChavez and franchise wingman John Labrador. They are supported by role playing guards, and the two will most likely carry the load on offense. They are a sleeper because of their discipline and understanding of the game. Coached by a 2 time Girls Division Champion Point Guard, they are instructed to use and exercise their strengths. But with the loss of some key players, they might struggle to make 4 games. Only time will tell.

Another team to look out for is Washington D.C. They sent legit Bantam and Junior teams last year, but i believe the lack of NABA experience decided their fate. Their 2008 junior team sported some hard nosed hustlers, and at some points were court thugs with their aggressive play which is always a good thing to have on teams. D.C. has always had veteran players though, which normally ran in the FBA tournament. But if they get their seasoned ballers together and send another legit group, they could upset some of the local Fil-Can teams the first game, vs. maybe York, or Vaughan. They have pride and are backed by a very supportive program. I can see D.C. definitely getting past the 1st day, but struggling if they get matched with one of the powerhouse teams.

The Fil-Can sleeper this year could be Winnipeg. Despite having an undermanned Junior team last year, they are backed by a bunch of bantam players moving up from their 2008 Bantam team, as well as other recruits and acquisitions. Amongst the underdogs, they could have the most balanced and well rounded team. With shooters, speed and size they will be one of the other under the radar favorites. I’ve seen them execute well in the halfcourt and are also lethal on the break. I actually recommend every team to watch their first game. The main thing i see as a problem for Winnipeg is the lack of a good go-to guy, a real franchise player like AJ Pizon, Kevin Ramos and Carlo DeChavez. Who knows, maybe they wont need one and will still be successful in this year’s tournament.

One of the last teams that has been on the uprising is JSAG-Jersey Shore. I’ve seen them develop from a bunch of sub-novice players to a group of well rounded and hungry kids. I assure everyone that this JSAG team will be different from the past JSAG teams. Like all the other elite teams, JSAG also has a franchise player, in Nikko ‘The Rhino’ Guirao. Nikko will be their main go to guy, but is backed by a strong supporting cast with big man Andy Harris standing at 6’4, and wing men Juan Juarez who was a big pick up from SIPAG, athletic forward Mark Tayo and Captain Jobert ‘Jobe’ Rosales.

One of the weaknesses i see in this team could be their lack of depth at the guard positions as Todd Angeles, Joe Nicdao and Kevin Danieles would most likely see the bulk of the minutes with their experience. One x-factor could be the return of Cody Felibrico if he is cleared to play after suffering a severe ankle injury. I strongly recommend every opponent not to sleep on this team. I actually guarantee that if they get matched with one of the Fil-Can powerhouses their first game, they will give them a good run. This could be the year JSAG comes out of the weaker team group.

One of the new teams this age group will see is Glendale Heights. Last year’s Glendale Heights team had a decent 4 game outcome. This year, they could be sporting a team with height since past Glendale Heights teams had size and athleticism. What we want to see on their first game is how deep their team goes and how they execute on both ends of the floor since they are still virtually new in this division. Rest assure, Glendale Heights has a strong history and should not be overlooked.

So there you have it, a preview of the favorites, some contenders and sleepers. Now for what most of you might just skip to, the power rankings:

NABA 2009 Junior Division POWER RANKINGS

1- Dolce Toronto
2- North Jersey Knights
3- Scarborough Falcons
4- North York-NYPAA
5- Montreal-Marquis
6- Winnipeg Wildcats A
7- Winnipeg Wildcats B
8- Washington D.C.-FYBA
9- Mississauga-MYAA
10- SIPAG-NY
11- JSAG-Jersey Shore
12- York Angiels
13- Glendale Heights Fil-Am
14- Durham FBA
15- Vaughan
16- New Market