Filipino-Australian Basketball Team YES recently won its third Championship title in last month’s Australian Chinese Basketball Association (ACBA) league.
Team YES, previously known as Boleraus which means “Ballers” in “Australia” (Boler-Aus) was formed in 2019 when members started playing in social games and leagues in Ryde, New South Wales. The team joined the Chinese Basketball Association (ACBA) tournament in the same year when it realised its team potential, defensive strategies, competitive alignments and positioning skills. It earned its first championship title for the ACBA league in November 2020. It was retained in the May 2021 tournament which was participated by teams from diverse cultural backgrounds. Team YES was the only Filipino team in its game division.
These two consecutive victories led to renaming the team. “The idea was brought to us by our Team Captain Karl Asidera which we dedicate to our wives and girlfriends by always saying yes to whatever they want or ask from us to make them happy, so in return, they will allow us to play basketball.”, Team YES Forward player and media content creator Kinnlot Mandawe explained. The recent win of Team YES has been memorable to the players as final points were only added in the remaining 40 seconds of the game. “If it weren’t for the team’s all-out effort, defense, crucial lay-up by Karl Asidera, and a clutch 4 point play by Kim Gomez to seal the game, we wouldn’t be a 3-time Champ at all.”, Mr Mandawe added.
Team YES is set to represent Sydney along with a few other teams selected by the ACBA league organiser in the upcoming Brisbane South Basketball League (BSBL) Interstate Easter Tournament. Soon after, the team will rejoin the ACBA tournament season in pursuit of winning their fourth ACBA Championship title and bringing honour to their respective families, the Filipino community in Australia and the Philippines itself. This will be followed by an invitational game being organised by a Filipino community group in Newcastle in June 2022.
The members of Team YES include Team Captain Karl Asidera, Kim Gomez, Kinnlot Mandawe, Rogel Fuentes, Sherwin Sucuaje, Lance Pagdanganan, Jhon Benedict Yu, Kent Asidera, Ian Besario, Julz Espinosa and Lyndon Castro. “To all the proud Filipinos here in Australia, especially those who love basketball as much as we do, let’s keep making the Philippines proud and support the game that we all have grown with. Keep hustling no matter what you do. In the end, it’s all going to be worth it.”, Team YES Finals Most Valuable Player Kim Gomez encouraged.
BOTTOM GROUP: Lower Team YES photo (1st row L-R) Sherwin Sucuaje, Jhon Benedict Yu and Kinnlot Mandawe (2nd row L-R) Julz Espinosa, Karl Asidera, Kim Gomez and Ian Besario (3rd row L-R) Rogel Fuentes, Kent Asidera and Lance Pagdanganan
For enquiries, more information and sponsorships for Team YES, please refer to Filo Hoopers TV Facebook page and YouTube Account and contact Kinnlot Mandawe at 0433 600 832 or via email at cvgkmandawe@aol.com.
More on ACBA and BSBL
ACBA is an independent not-for-profit company incorporated in 1996 by a group of players dedicated to promoting the game of basketball within the Sydney Chinese community. It organised its first tournament the following year in Easter 1997. It hosted the Australian Boomerangs Paralympics in 2000, a preparatory tournament before the Paralympics of the same year.
BSBL is a local amateur basketball league that runs at Cornubia Sports Centre in the City of Logan, Queensland. It currently has four Divisions with a total of 40 teams and over 500 registered players.
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