MCS cagebelles to join FIBA camp

Mt. Carmel School’s Jan-Nasia Travilla, left photo, and Karleen Reyes, right, are leaving Saipan next week to participate in the FIBA-sponsored Pacific Youth Leaders Basketball Camp in Gold Coast, Australia. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Mount Carmel School standouts Jan-Nasia Travilla and Karleen Reyes are heading to Australia next week to represent the CNMI in the FIBA-sponsored Pacific Youth Leaders Basketball Camp.

The elite basketball and youth development camp will run from Sept. 2 to 11 in Gold Coast and will be ran by ex-WNBA and Australian Opals coach Carrie Graf and five-time Olympian and former Australian Boomers coach Phil Smyth. Other former and current Australian basketball stars will also lend a hand in the 10-day camp, which is for players in the 17 to 20 age group.

“They (participants) will have the opportunity to learn directly from some of Australia’s basketball legends as well as work with experienced facilitators to enhance their individual skills and teach them values that lead to success in basketball and in life,” FIBA Oceania Executive Director David Crocker said in the invitation letter sent to Travilla and Reyes.

The two Lady Knights are thankful and very excited for this rare opportunity and vowed to make the most out of their experience in the camp.

“I’m grateful for being given the opportunity to be a part of this camp, especially since there are a lot of athletes on island who don’t get to experience this. I’ve been playing basketball since I was 5 and this is one of the many things I’ve always wanted to experience. Hopefully, in the future there will be more opportunities like this for our young athletes,” said Travilla, who will be playing in her last season with Mt. Carmel in the 2016-2017 school year.

“When I get back, I will share what I’ve learned with my teammates,” added Travilla, who led the Lady Knights to their fourth straight championship in the Coalition of Private School Sports Association Basketball League last season.

Reyes will also be playing her last year with Mt. Carmel so the timing of the camp is just perfect for her farewell season with the Lady Knights.

“This opportunity was really unexpected for me. It’s always an honor to get chosen for events like these and I’m really thankful for having the chance to go off-island to represent the CNMI in this camp. It’s my last year on island before I go to college and I’m excited just knowing that I will able to experience this one last time,” Reyes said.

“It will definitely be a learning experience. My only goal is to grow here, expand my skills about the game, mentally and of course, physically. After the camp, I plan to utilize everything that I’ve learned and put them into play while I’m here. I’m always eager to learn something new about the game and being able to share that with my team afterwards is always fulfilling,” the MCS point guard added.

Meanwhile, Lady Knights coach Cathy Attao-Toves said that their team will be relying on Reyes and Travilla when the basketball season opens and their experience in the camp will be a big boost to their leadership skills.

“We have a very young team this season and we are expecting Karleen and Jan to take the leadership role when we start training and playing,” Attao-Toves said.

The coach also hopes that the two MCS players’ participation in the FIBA camp and the skills they will learn from it will encourage more female players to join the sport and play for their respective schools and other youth leagues on the island.

“We have students who want to try the sports, but are lacking in skills, so if we have players who will learn from the pros and other experts in a camp like this, when they get back they can teach those who are interested to play basketball. That way, we will have more players and more teams joining both the private school and MISO leagues,” Attao-Toves said.

The invitation to attend the camp reached Travilla and Reyes just last week so they are working double time to get some funding for their trip to the Land Down Under and they welcome any donation from generous companies or individuals. The two MCS players will leave Saipan for the camp on Aug. 31.