After eight weeks of intensive training, the members of the East Asia Super League (EASL) Future Champions Elite Cebu Team have been selected and are now set to compete in the three-day Hong Kong All-Star Tournament on July 24-26, 2026.
During an awarding ceremony on Wednesday, June 17, coaches and trainers led by Joel Co announced the 10 young players who will comprise the EASL Future Champions Elite Cebu All-Star Team. Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival and Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) chairman Rhoel Dejaño attended the ceremony.
The selected players are Domenic de Asis, Dwayne Rojo, Venz Nadela, Dereck Wenceslao, Kent Labitad, Brix Hernando, Kiefer Villarin, Duke Tadlas, Mc Dome de Asis, and Ian Inocencio. Five other players were named as reserves.
The team will continue training at the City Sports Institute Gym as part of its preparations for the tournament in Hong Kong, where it will face other EASL All-Star teams from various countries.
EASL Future Champions training director Michael Olson thanked the 40 young athletes who committed themselves to the eight-week training program. He emphasized that even those not selected for the final roster would benefit from the experience and lessons gained.
“After spending the last eight weeks with you all, I am more excited than ever to see what happens going forward. Congratulations to each and every one of you and thank you for making this inaugural season such a memorable success,” Olson said during the ceremony.
For his part, Co expressed pride in the program's success, admitting that selecting the final roster was difficult. “Selecting 40 from the over 200 kids at the start was hard. If I could bring all 40 to Hong Kong, why not? But this is a victory for all of us who were part of this selection process. Congratulations to everyone,” said Co.
The EASL Future Champions Elite Cebu program began on April 12 after attracting more than 200 participants during tryouts. The field was trimmed to 40 players, divided into four teams, and trained under EASL coaches.
Dejaño described the program as a tremendous opportunity for young athletes and a source of inspiration. “Learning from world-class coaches inspires them to dream bigger in basketball,” Dejaño said.
During the event, EASL handed out five individual awards based on tournament competitions. In the team competition, the Cebu Waves, coached by Frank Dysam, emerged as champions. Individual awardees were Labitad (Best Defensive Player), Wenceslao (Best Teammate), Noah Jordan Zak (Sportsmanship Award), Villarin (Most Coachable Player), and Domenic de Asis (Most Valuable Player).
Aside from Co and Dysam, the EASL Future Champions Elite Cebu coaching staff included Jed Cabellon, John Llanto, and Jeremy Capacio.
