Jelo Mar Rota. | Photo from NBA Philippines
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles’ big man Jelo Mar Rota received a very rare opportunity to represent the Philippines in 13th Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Asia Camp of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates later this year.
Rota, a native of Bantayan Island who serves as forward and center with the Magis Eagles, is one of the only two Filipino basketball players who were selected to join this prestigious basketball camp.
The other Filipino is Andy Gemao of the Letran University Squires.
READ: Filipino players Andy Gemao, Jelomar Rota part of Basketball Without Borders camp
They are part of the top 80 high school aged basketball prospects selected across Asia and the Middle East in the training camp.
The NBA BWB was launched in 2021 which also serves as an outreach program of FIBA’s global basketball development and community outside the United States,
During the camp, Rota and Gemao will take part in top-notch coaching and skills development program by no less than NBA, WNBA, and FIBA coaches.
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NBA stars like season MVP Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, along with DeAndre Ayton of Phoenix Suns, OKC Thunders’ Josh Giddey, and Lauri Markkanen of Finland are some of the products of the BWB back in the day.
Rota isn’t the first Cebuano to get chosen by the BWB. It can be recalled that his teammate and now UP Fighting Maroons Jared Bahay took part in the BWB camp in 2022.
Aside from Rota, another Cebuano was also chosen by the NBA to participate in one of its international camps.
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Henry Kristoffer Suico who is also from the SHS-AdC Magis Eagles was invited and took part of the NBA Academy Asia Development Camp in Singapore last month.
It’s best remembered that Rota was one of the key players that won the SHS-AdC Magis Eagles the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) high school title last year against the City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy (CBSAA) Trailblazers.
He ended up being named as one of the league’s “Mythical Five.”
He also campaigned for the Magis Eagles in last March’s National Basketball Training Camp (NBTC) National Finals in Manila.
For SHS-AdC Magis Eagles multi-titled head coach Rommel Rasmo, he is very proud of Rota’s achievement.
“I’m very proud that Jelo was included in the NBA BWB program. It’s a testament to his talent and hard work that he was invited and he deserved it. It’s also a good sign that our program is on the right track and we continue to produce student-atheletes who perform on the international level,” said Rasmo.