SLAM Rising Stars Year 4 ends with Hype on top
THE fourth staging of the SLAM Rising Stars Classic was successfully held at the weekend at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong City, with Team Hype emerging victorious, 89-83, while also tying the overall record at 2-2 with rival Team Punks.
Led by Juan Gomez De Liaño of the University of the Philippines Integrated School, Team Hype made the big plays down the stretch to wind up ruling this year’s edition of the classic, which gathers some of the best high school players in the land.
Much like its previous iterations, this year’s Rising Stars was highly competitive with all the participants, some of whom are set to take their act to the seniors game next season, eager to show what they are capable of.
But it was UPIS’ Gomez De Liaño who stood out the brightest, making big shots in the closeout to help his team to the win and in the process be named most valuable player.
Gomez De Liaño, who is committed to play for the UP Maroons in college, finished with a game- high 16 points, six coming inside the last two minutes as Team Hype pulled away. He also had seven rebounds and two assists.
Providing support for Team Hype, which bucked being two men down as the game progressed with Jonas Tibayan (Chiang Kai Shek College) and Germy Mahinay getting injured, were Will Gozum of Mapua with 13 points and Rhayyan Amsali ( National University) and Lj Gonzales (Far Eastern University) with 11 points each.
Team Punks, meanwhile, was paced by Aaron Fermin of Arellano University with 14 markers, followed by John Lloyd Clemente (NU) with 13, Guilmer Dela Torre ( AU) with 12 and Karl Peñano (NU) with 10 points.
“I did not expect to win the MVP. This is a surprised for me. I just wanted to help my team win,” Gomez De Liaño said in the postgame interview.
Team Hype was coached by Alaska Aces veteran Tony Dela Cruz and also included Carlo Abadeza (AU), Winderlich Coyoca (NU), Rom Junsay (Mapua), Robert Minerva (CKSC) Martin Romero (De La Salle Zobel) and Joshua Tagala (San Beda).
Philippine Basketball Association legend Willie Miller was the coach of Team Punks, whose roster also had as members Sam Abu Hijleh (San Beda), Dave Ildefonso (Ateneo De Manila University), Troy Mallillin ( La Salle Greenhills), Unique Naboa ( LSGH), Miguel Oczon ( CKSC), Harvey Pagsanjan ( Hope Christian High School), Kenji Roman (FEU) and Jasper Salenga (Mapua).
For SLAM Managing Editor Miguel Rocha, the fourth year of the Rising Stars Classic was something they are truly proud of as it was a testament to how far it has come.
“We are happy with the progress of the event. It keeps growing every year. And since we are getting bigger it has translated to more exposure for the players,” said Mr. Rocha, whose group created the classic to channel focus on future hoops stars in the country while at the same highlighting the sport of basketball and its power to make an impact on one’s life.
“I think this is the most talented batch ever. And after four years of doing this, we can say the high school basketball scene is truly improving,” he added.
The Rising Stars Classic was fueled by Gatorade, outfitted by adidas, with Smart as official telecommunications partner, Resorts World Manila as venue partner and supported by Titan. —