The best players in high school basketball are ready to take centerstage as the teams competing in the Darlington-National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) All-Star Game have been set.
La Salle Green Hills point guard and NCAA Juniors Finals MVP Joel Cagulangan leads Team Cherifer Heart, coached by former PBA mentor Chris Gavina.
Facing Cagulangan will be Team Cherifer Hustle, which is spearheaded by UAAP Juniors Finals MVP Kai Sotto. The Ateneo Blue Eaglet will be the focal point of his squad coached by Lyceum Pirates coach Topex Robinson.
Earlier this week, NBTC released its final 24 players for its annual All-Star event. The list was ranked and deliberated by a panel of sportswriters, coaches, and a statistician based on a criteria measuring different facets of the game.
The NBTC held a draft on Thursday, March 8 to determine the placing of each of the 24 players. UAAP champion coach Joe Silva, who will be the assistant coach for Robinson, picked for Team Hustle while NCAA Juniors champion Marvin Bienvenida picked the players for coach Gavina.
Cagulangan was picked first by his LSGH coach Bienvenida while Sotto was immediately picked second by his Ateneo coach Silva.
Cagulangan will lead a team boasting of talent and explosiveness. The point guard will be joined by Aaron Fermin of Arellano, L-Jay Gonzales of FEU-Diliman, Dave Ildefonso of Ateneo, Warren Bonifacio and Clint Escamis of Mapua, John Galinato of Chiang Kai Shek, LSGH teammate Inand Fornilos of, Evan Nelle of San Beda, Raven Cortez of La Salle Zobel, and University of Visayas' Biern Laurente and Joshua Yerro.
"Mostly, my backcourt can play multiple positions. Their roles vary this time, may it be to get ready to shoot, get the ball down. They're versatile," Bienvenida said about his lineup. "Bottom line, they're fast, they defend well on perimeter, and we have good anchors in our big men."
"It's a good exposure for the kids, good recognition, but at the same time, [it's the] relationship among other competitors on other schools and (they'll) be able to bring that in college," added Bienvenida about the draft and the upcoming All-Star game. "This will be a good batch."
As for the team of coaches Robinson and Silva, Sotto will anchor the squad alongside NCAA MVP Will Gozum of Mapua and UAAP MVP CJ Cansino of UST. Completing Team Hustle are Ateneo teammate SJ Belangel, RJ Abarrientos of FEU-Diliman, Rhayyan Amsali, Terrence Fortea, and Miguel Oczon of NU, Harvey Pagsanjan of Hope Christian, Joem Sabandal of Adamson, Mac Guadaña of Lyceum, and Alex Visser of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu.
"It's a mixture of defense and offense, and I stuck with defense first that's why those were the picks," explained Silva. "In the end, I was still able to get offensive players."
The NBTC All-Star Game, which will take place on March 23 at the Mall of Asia Arena, is the culminating event of the NBTC National Finals where champions and top teams nationwide will slug it out to determine the best high school team in the country.
The 2017-18 NBTC season is proudly sponsored by Chooks-to-Go, Darlington, Cherifer, Petron, Akari, Hino Motors, Freego Jeans, and Exped Socks.