Australia’s NBL1 mainstay Jolzyne Impreso returned to the Philippines to reconnect with her roots to play at some of Asia’s biggest basketball grassroots tournament.
This year, in her second appearance since the first National Basketball Tournament Centre (NBTC) featuring Girls Got Next, she returns to play in the NBTC Manila Live tournament with the National University (NU) team. The NBTC hosts a nationwide tournament that features the best high school teams showcasing the talent in the Philippines since 2016. More recently NBTC has involved international teams and only last year involved female participation.
The tournament was held from 18 to 24 March with female participation growing significantly since the first ever held in 2023 with NU taking the championship this time around with Impreso, the only international player invited to play for a high school team in the Philippines following her win last year with Fil-Nation. She is now the only female that holds a back-to-back championship win in the history of girls participation in the NBTC.
The NTBC also held a girls Allstar game, with Impreso also selected alongside the top players from all the participating teams. During the time, she also commenced her training as a future prospect for the Gilas Womens National team for the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup ahead of next year. She will then return for another consecutive season, with the Inner West Bulls in the National Basketball League (NBL1 East Conference) in Australia starting this April 2024.
Photos by Jomari Carreon and Joseph Sanvictores
