Romwel Anzures

PYBC Commissioner Benjie Paras (middle) with team coaches and owners. Handout photo.

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17578209162023.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="PYBC Commissioner Benjie Paras (middle) with team coaches and owners. Handout photo."/>PYBC Commissioner Benjie Paras (middle) with team coaches and owners. Handout photo.MANILA — Coaches will also take the spotlight in the upcoming Philippine Youth Basketball Championship (PYBC) as they look to help mold the next batch of the country’s stars of the sport.<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/8/30/ex-college-hoops-star-mark-lopez-now-focused-on-molding-next-gen-of-ph-cagers-1948"></a> <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/8/30/ex-college-hoops-star-mark-lopez-now-focused-on-molding-next-gen-of-ph-cagers-1948"></a> <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/8/30/ex-college-hoops-star-mark-lopez-now-focused-on-molding-next-gen-of-ph-cagers-1948">READ: Ex-college hoops star Mark Lopez now focused on molding next gen of PH cagers</a> Beginning next week, hoopers in the brackets of Under-11 (Born 2014), Under-13 (Born 2012), and Under-15 (Born 2010) will finally take the spotlight in the inaugural PYBC, but it will also be the chance for their mentors to guide them with the help of tradition, and transform them through analytics and innovation. The PYBC — which is powered by PalawanPay, and is led by PH hoops legend Benjie Paras as Commissioner, WMBPL Champion Coach Paolo Layug as Deputy Commissioner, and Momentum PH founder Carl Villanueva as Tournament Director — boasts of being the newest grassroots league which focuses on combining top-notch action and analytics. PLANS “We want to track the player on a year-to-year basis,” said Layug, also a deputy coach of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. “It’s not only about scoring, we want well-rounded players.” “We will implement rankings. We will see how players are ranked not only in their divisions, but also by their age. It’s basically going to give weight and points to their stats. Steals and blocks will be weighed more. It’s the key in a sense na hindi siya individual stats, team stats siya, and we want to highlight the players that when you are on the floor, you have a positive impact,” he added. For former University of the Philippines star Mark Lopez of MLO Basketball, these features are beneficial additions to how the youth are currently trained. “Coaching is not only about drawing up plays,” the former UAAP standout said. “It’s about mentoring and guiding. Kailangan ng discipline on-and-off the court. Dapat maayos yung buhay ng bata not just on the basketball court, but also off of it,” he added. LEARN AND IMMERSE Meanwhile, for former De La Salle University and San Sebastian College-Reoletos guard Ramil Tero, the PYBC is also a chance for young coaches like him to learn and immerse themselves in high-stakes action. ”Malaking tulong yung nakapaglaro ako sa UAAP, pero noon pa lang, naka focus na ako sa pagtulong sa mga bata eh,” said Tero, who is in charge of Coach T Basketball Team. “Pero after ng NCAA noong 2019, nung nag pandemic, doon na ako talaga mas tumutok dito.” ”Pinaglaan ko na yung chance na ipasa naman yung opportunities sa mga bata. Pero, gusto ko rin matuto sa mga veterans kaya sumali ako dito,” he added. The same goes for Coach Ace Abuyen of Smile 360 Bullies U13 and Ezekiel Vidal of JSkills BBALLDVT. ”Nag coach ako sa La Salle, sa CSA Makati, and then naging mentor ko doon si Coach Cholo Villanueva,” said Abuyen of the former Green Archer who is now leading the women’s team of the Taft-based team. “Pero bukod sa gusto kong makatulong sa mga bata na galing public schools and other top schools, chance ko rin ito na mas matuto.” “Coaching is not something new to me, pero I just want to experience the most of it even more, “ said Vidal. &#x27;MAS SCIENTIFIC&#x27; On the other hand, for the likes of Noel Engracia of RWE Basketball U11 and Teddy Polinga of Spartans U15, the PYBC is a chance for veteran coaches to expand and develop their knowledge further. “The great thing about analytics is yung development, mas scientific. So if we can improve how to interpret analytics even more, we can help the players improve lalo,” said Engracia, previously a coach in Manresa School and La Salle Zobel. “We help them develop into winning players, yung weaknesses mo will be overcome, and yung positives mo will not be exploited,” added Engracia, who also taught players such as Waki Espina of Ateneo de Manila University, and Yuri Duque of Mapua University. “In San Beda, we always preach that basketball is more than scoring, so ngayon na makikita ng mga bata na mas may weight ang defense with the analytics, mas mag i-improve pa sila,” said Polinga, also a coach in the Junior MPBL. RELATED VIDEO</div><div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_G8-8Z4GojI?&amp;themeRefresh=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>

Coaches will also take the spotlight in the upcoming PYBC as they look to help mold the next batch of the country’s stars of the sport.

Coaches will also take the spotlight in the upcoming PYBC as they look to help mold the next batch of the country’s stars of the sport.

Ex-UAAP players-turned-coaches, tenured mentors embrace innovation in PYBC

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Ex-UAAP players-turned-coaches, tenured mentors embrace innovation in PYBC

ABS-CBN News

Published September 14, 2025 12:04 PM PHT

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Updated September 18, 2025 03:37 PM PHT

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