Members of TEAM PUNKS and TEAM HYPE. Contributed Photo
The top high school basketball players in Manila will face off anew as the SLAM Rising Stars Classic returns for the third straight year on March 20 at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Shaw Boulevard.
Twenty four standouts from high schools all over the Metro will get the chance to showcase their talent against top notch competition in a game aired live on ABS-CBN Sports and Action starting 6:30 pm.
“The SLAM Rising Stars Classic is the graduation ceremony of Philippine high school basketball’s honors class. It is a collection of the most talented, most promising young names in hoops, names that we are certain will become more and more familiar to more and more people as years go by,” said SLAM Philippines’ Executive Editor Nikko Ramos.
UAAP Jrs. Season 78 MVP and DLSU commit Aljun Melecio from De La Salle Santiago Zobel, and NCAA Jrs. Season 91 Finals MVP Evan Nelle of San Beda College-Rizal headline this year’s showcase, which also includes blue chip players Justine Baltazar and John Lloyd Clemente of the NU Bullpups.
Also returning to this year’s SLAM Rising Stars Classic are Ricci Rivero of LSGH, Jolo Mendoza of Ateneo High School, Carlo Abadeza of Arellano University, and new ADMU commit Tyler Tio of Xavier School.
Last year, DLSU’s JBoy Gob and NU’s JV Gallego shared the MVP honors as they led Team Punks to a 103-95 win over Team Hype. Gob finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds while Gallego came up with 18 points on 8-12 shooting.
Numerous collegiate stars like Prince Rivero, Andrei Caracut, Rev Diputado, among others have played in the previous two editions of the SLAM Rising Stars Classic.
This year, La Salle Zobel coach Gian Nazario will coach TEAM PUNKS while Ateneo High School Blue Eaglets head coach Joe Silva will call the shots for TEAM HYPE with select PBA stars serving as assistant coaches.
Here are the line-ups of both squads:
Team HYPE
#4 Samuel Abu Hiljeh (San Beda College-Rizal)
#5 BJ Andrade (Ateneo de Manila High School)
#6 John Lloyd Clemente (Nazareth School of National University)
#7 Michael Enriquez (Mapua – Malayan High School)
#8 Javi Gomez De Llaño (UP Integrated School)
#9 Gian Mamuyac (Ateneo de Manila High School)
#10 Jolo Mendoza (Ateneo de Manila High School)
#11 Harvey Kenji Roman (FEU-Diliman)
#13 Marco Sario (De La Salle Santiago Zobel)
#14 Jonas Tibayan (Chiang Kai Shek College)
#15 Tyler Tio (Xavier School)
HEAD COACH: Joe Silva (AHS)
ASSISTANT COACHES: Tony Dela Cruz (ALA), Chris Banchero (ALA)
Team PUNKS
#4 Carlo Abadeza (Arellano University)
#5 Justine Baltazar (Nazareth School of National University)
#6 Alberto Bordeos (San Beda College-Rizal)
#7 Sherwin Concepcion (Mapua – Malayan High School)
#8 Guilmer Dela Torre (Arellano University)
#9 Juan Gomez De Llaño (UP Integrated School)
#10 Shaun Ildefonso (Ateneo de Manila High School)
#11 Aljun Melecio (De La Salle Santiago Zobel)
#12 Evan Nelle (San Beda College-Rizal)
#13 Kyle Ong (Xavier School)
#14 Brent Paraiso (De La Salle Santiago Zobel)
#15 Ricci Rivero (La Salle Greenhills)
HEAD COACH: Gian Nazario (DLSZ)
ASSISTANT COACHES: Marc Pingris (SH), Troy Rosario (TNT)