THE Philippines is gearing up for game day as the winning Red Bull Half Court teams, Half Court Group and Uratex Dream, head to New York representing the country at the Red Bull Half Court World Final. Months after they earned their wings and secured their respective spots in the competition, both teams are ready to put on a show for the global stage.
Sam Harada, Kaye Pingol, Eunique Chan, and Afril Bernardino of Uratex Dream are challenging for the title as Red Bull 2024 Half Court World Champion for the women’s division. Meanwhile Chester Saldua, Matt Salem, Jordan Bartlett, and Gryann Mendoza of Half Court Group, who are playing for the men’s division, have been laser-focused on getting back into the swing of the 3-on-3 streetball tournament. The team has emphasized the importance of staying in shape, anticipating a fast-paced game full of pressure.
“Our outside shooting and speed will always be our main weapons,” said Half Court Group’s coach Mau Belen. “In practice, we make sure to improve these two skills sets and use (them) efficiently in order to help us win games.”
Belen added: “We are trying to focus on positioning better inside the court, so we’ll give ourselves a chance to keep the ball alive and maintain an even count on possession against the other teams.”
Asked about what they expect to be their biggest challenge during the competition, the coach shared, “We have addressed every physical and mental challenge we are about to experience during the tournament, but one thing we can’t really prepare for is the jetlag (that) the players will have (from) traveling to the other side of the world. This is something we hope wouldn’t put us in a big disadvantage.”
On the team’s chemistry, Belen claimed, “The team has been together for (about) over a year now, so familiarity and chemistry are not really something we’ve had to cover. But I’ve seen a lot of maturity in their game, and it’s something I’m excited to see in New York.”
The team’s coach also said that she constantly reminds the players of simply enjoying the game. “I constantly emphasize (to them to) enjoy each game and the whole experience because we will never know when we’ll have this kind of chance again.”
Belen shared that the loss from last year’s World Final in Serbia shaped her mindset and coaching heading to this year’s World Final. The coach said, “As a leader I (made) sure that I improve my coaching ability in order to match the high-level competition in the World Final. Learning the game intentionally and intensively has been my promise to myself since the loss against Dominican Republic last year.”
Looking ahead to the competition, both Philippine representative teams share the enthusiasm for the challenge and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of representing the Philippines in a global street basketball. Belen also expressed her aspirations for Half Court Group at the World Final this year. “I hope we as a team have had that chance to evolve and mature on and off the court.”
