Four Grade 7 students from The Philippine School – Abu Dhabi (PSAD) were named Best Players of the Game as the school’s Under-12 basketball team completed a perfect run in the fifth season of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Abu Dhabi League.
The team went 4-0 across two game days held at Repton School Abu Dhabi’s Fry Campus on Reem Island, with matches played on May 17 and 24, 2026. The players honoured for their individual performances were Liam Andrei Alcantara, John Emmanuel Aguilar, Jonel Lenard Sarmiento, and Joshua Mansit.
Coaching the squad through the unbeaten campaign were Dennis Marcelo, Alvin Diaz, and Raymond Ocampo.
The milestone comes as the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Abu Dhabi League — organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and the NBA — marked its largest season since launching in 2022, drawing more than 2,500 boys and girls from 68 schools across Abu Dhabi and the Al Ain Region. The season expanded to include Under-16 competition for the first time alongside existing Under-12 and Under-14 divisions, with 170 teams competing across six leagues — a 39 percent increase from the previous year.
PSAD, a DepEd-affiliated Filipino school serving the OFW community in the UAE capital, joins the growing list of Philippine schools making their presence felt in grassroots sports competitions in the Gulf.
