Prep stars showcase skills tonight

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s top high school basketball players converge to showcase their skills in the fifth annual Slam Rising Stars Classic at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong tonight with college scouts expected to collar front row seats for the chance to look closely at 13 graduating prepsters.

Like in the first edition in 2014, the players will be split between Team Punks under coach Olsen Racela and Team Hype under coach Joe Silva. Slam named 25 players to participate in the game but SJ Belangel of Ateneo, Inand Fornillos of La Salle Greenhills, Joaqui Manuel of Ateneo and Joel Cagulangan of La Salle Greenhills won’t be suiting up. Belangel isn’t seeing action because of a prohibition in his Nike contract while Fornillos and Cagulangan cited prior commitments. Manuel fractured his foot during the recent UAAP juniors finals and will be on the Hype bench to cheer his teammates. Manuel’s foot is now immobilized in a boot and he’ll start therapy in a few weeks without the need of surgery.

Despite the absence of the four players, the cast is still a dream-come-true for scouts. NCAA juniors MVP Will Gozum of Mapua and UAAP juniors MVP C. J. Cansino of UST head the Hype lineup while UAAP juniors finals MVP Kai Sotto of Ateneo is the Punks’ main man. The others in Hype are LJ Gonzales of FEU, Harvey Pagsanjan of Hope Christian, John Galinato of Chiang Kai Shek, Raven Cortez of La Salle Zobel, Terrence Fortea of NU, Mac Guadana of Ateneo, Jason Credo of Ateneo and Neil Tolentino of Letran.

Aside from Cagulangan and Sotto, the other Punks players are Warren Bonifacio of Mapua, Dave Ildefonso of Ateneo, Rhayyan Amsali of NU, Evan Nelle of San Beda, Aaron Fermin of Arellano, Clint Escamis of Mapua, R. J. Abarrientos of FEU, Joem Sabandal of Adamson, Jason Celis of Chiang Kai Shek and Vincent Cunanan of Lyceum. Ildefonso’s father Danny and Abarrientos’ uncle Johnny are PBA legends so their basketball pedigree is deeply rooted.

The players’ age range is 15 to 19 with Sotto the youngest and Gonzales the oldest. Of the 25 players, 14 are at least six-feet tall – 7-1 Sotto, 6-7 Cortez, 6-5 Gozum, 6-5 Bonifacio, 6-5 Fermin, 6-4 Amsali, 6-3 Ildefonso, 6-3 Credo, 6-2 Fornillos, 6-2 Manuel, 6-1 Cansino, 6-1 Pagsanjan, 6-0 Guadana and 6-0 Tolentino.   

Slam’s Polo Bustamante said the players were divided in the spirit of leveling the competition. Cortez and Sotto, for example, are on opposing teams. Racela, who coaches FEU in the seniors division, will be assisted by La Salle Zobel assistant coach Gian Nazario on the Punks bench. Silva, who is the Ateneo juniors coach, will call the shots for Hype. Five Ateneo players made it to the 25-man pool, the most from one school. Mapua is represented by three players while La Salle Greenhills, Chiang Kai Shek, Lyceum, FEU and NU by two each.

Pagsanjan is playing in his third Rising Stars classic. Other repeaters are Fermin, Nelle, Amsali, Ildefonso, Gozum and Gonzales. The first edition in 2014 was won by Hype with Hubert Cani the MVP. The second in 2015 was won by Punks with JBoy Gob and J. V. Gallego sharing MVP honors. The third in 2016 was won by Punks with Aljun Melecio the MVP and last year, Hype beat Punks, 89-83 with Juan Gomez de Liano the MVP. Among the Rising Stars alumni are Prince Rivero, Arvin Tolentino, Noah Webb, Wendell Comboy, Thirdy Ravena, Jolo Mendoza, Jonas Tibayan, Troy Malilin, John Lloyd Clemente and Andrei Caracut.