MORE young guns from Sydney have pursued studies north and joined Ateneo de Cebu basketball high school’s Magis Eagles recently.
By VIOLI CALVERT
Ang Kalatas
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Travis Mantua, Jeremy Nacua and Joshua Sinclair have added to a pool of Sydney-based cagers playing for school teams in the Philippines.
They are following the footsteps of basketball star Ridge Mantua who played for Magis Eagles and has recently moved to the University of the Philippines’ Fighting Maroons.
Ridge’s cousin Travis, 15, standing 5ft 10in tall, will play point/shooting guard. Jeremy, 16, is also 5ft 10in and will likewise play point/shooting guard.
Sinclair, 16, is 6ft 3in, will play power forward and has been named the team’s vice captain.
“I feel excited about playing for this team because of the new experiences I am going to have and also the players I am going to play with,” Travis said. “I think this team has potential to achieve big things this year and the upcoming years.”
Jeremy said: “I feel ecstatic because I’ve heard so many good things about the team and for these upcoming years I know we have a good line-up so I’m excited for the years to come. The things I want to achieve playing for the Ateneo Magis Eagles is to focus on my studies and play basketball.”
Joshua said he was honoured to be part of such a great team. “I want to be the best basketball player I can be, I want to be the best teammate I can be as well as be the best leader I can be,” he said.
All three are achievers in basketball.
Travis started playing basketball when he was seven in the U10s with St Clair Basketball Association. He played representative basketball U12s at age10, in Div 2 with Penrith Panthers Association, and in the U16s Blacktown Storm which competed in the NSW State championships 2013. Tavis is the eldest son of Gerardo Mantua and Rogelia Rigor Mantua.
Jeremy’s basketball credentials include a MVP and coaches’ awards. He represented his school at the Parramatta Diocese Secondary School Sport Council in 2012 and 2013. He was selected by BasketballNSW to play in Sydney’s first Super Development League in 2012. Jeremy was named as Best Defensive Player of the year in the U16s Div 1 representative level. Jeremy’s parents are Joselito and Erlinda Nacua.
Joshua played rugby reague for many years. He started playing basketball at age 12, was name MVP and top score at the NSW State championships in his last year of playing basketball in Sydney. His parents are Rob and Pollen (a Filipina) Sinclair.
The Magis Eagles team competes in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. [CESAFI] tournament.
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PICTURE:
Top from left – Travis Mantua, Ridge Mantua, Jeremy Nacua, and Josh Sinclair.
Lower – Magis Eagles’ Travis Mantua (29) confronts La Salle Green Hills attack at Goodwill Games in Manila.
