CAN’T MISS: SLAM Rising Stars Classic 2018

Posted on Mar 15, 2018 in SLAM

It’s that time of the year again. Over the last few months, the best high school players in the metro have been going at it in their respective leagues. This weekend, the best of the best go head to head in this year’s SLAM Rising Stars Classic.

On its fifth year, 25 of the best high school standouts will play at the annual exhibition game to be held this Sunday, March 18 at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong.

“I expect good competition kasi sobrang selected sa iba’t-ibang school na the best talaga, so pride paglalabanan. Underdog lahat, magkakasing-level, wala ‘yung mamaliitin mo. Dapat talaga go hard lahat kasi for you ayaw mong maii-score-an ng iba,” said NCAA Jrs. MVP Will Gozum of Mapua.

Gozum will team up with reigning MVP of UAAP Jrs., UST’s CJ Cansino, to represent Team Hype.

“Expectation ko siyempre magiging competitive lahat kasi siyempre selection ng best high school players, so hindi magiging madali ‘yung SLAM [Rising Stars Classic] kasi it’s about pride para sa akin,” Cansino told SLAM Philippines.

Here’s the rest of Team Hype’s roster:

Team HYPE

Harvey Pagsanjan (Hope Christian)
Raven Cortez (La Salle Zobel)
Inand Fornillos (La Salle Greenhills)
Neil Tolentino (Letran)
John Galinato (Chiang Kai Shek College)
L-Jay Gonzales (FEU)
Terrence Fortea (NU)
Mac Guadana (Lyceum)
Joaqui Manuel (Ateneo)
Jason Credo (Ateneo)
SJ Belangel (Ateneo)

On the other side, Team Punks will be led by 7-foot-1 Kai Sotto and Rhayyan Amsali of NU. The two recently went head to head in the recently concluded UAAP Juniors Finals. Here’s the rest of the Team Punks roster:

Team PUNKS

Jason Celis (Chiang Kai Shek College)
RJ Abarrientos (FEU)
Vincent Cunanan (Lyceum)
Clint Escamis (Mapua)
Joem Sabandal (Adamson)
Even Nelle (San Beda)
Dave Ildefonso (Ateneo)
Aaron Fermin (Arellano)
Warren Bonifacio (Mapua)
Joel Cagulangan (La Salle Greenhills)

Even though the game may not matter to a lot, this is a good chance to see where the future of Philippine Basketball is headed. There are a lot of now-household names that played in the Rising Stars Classic and expect to see a couple more names as most of these players are headed to the senior ranks.

Catch the SLAM Rising Stars Classic 2018 LIVE on March 18 at the Gatorade Hoops Center at 6PM. The game will also be aired LIVE on S+A. Follow the action on social media through #SLAMRisingStars