Cebuana Florence Jil Talas shows off her skills during the Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebuana basketball player Florence Jil Talas was named to the West All Star team that emerged victorious over their East counterparts, 29-23, in the Basketball without Borders (BWB) Asia 2019 All Star Games, which concluded on Sunday, August 18, 2019, in Tokyo, Japan.
Talas, a product of Abellana National High School before she made her way to Chiang Kai Shek College, was just one of 14 girl campers who were selected to compete in the All Star Game. Maho Hayashi of Japan was eventually named as the MVP of the girls’ All Star Game.
The fourth and final day of Basketball without Borders (BWB) Asia camp ended in a thrilling fashion as the 64 campers coming from 18 countries and territories in Asia-Pacific competed in playoffs and championship games, a three-point contest, and a pair of All-Star games, which also featured Batang Gilas forward Joshua Rafael Lazaro, Jr. and NBA Philippines All-Star Harold Alarcon, who was named as the MVP of the boys’ All Star Game.
The camp got underway in the morning with playoffs games to determine the championship games matchup. On the girls side, the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks faced off in the championship game, with the Liberty, coached by former WNBA player Ashley Battle, winning, 33–18.
The boys’ championship game then followed, with the Orlando Magic, coached on the sidelines by current NBA assistant coach Pat Delany, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 22–16.
Upon the conclusion of the championship games, the boys and girls competed in the three-point competition finals. Mustafa Rashed from Bahrain was crowned the boys 3-point champion, while Japan’s Miyu Ogita came out on top on the girls’ side.
The 11th BWB Asia camp wrapped up with the Awards Ceremony. Junseok Yeo of South Korea was named boys MVP, while Georgia Woolley from Australia was crowned girls MVP. | dcb