Anna Marie Lukban

High five for the ROY and MVP of Star Magic All-Star Games Juniors Basketball Division

Article (news)

Liezel Dela Cruz

They may be the younger hotshots of Star Magic, but these rising stars certainly know how to put up big numbers from downtown.The next generation of Kapamilya ballers took center stage as Team Shooting Stars Blue and Team Shooting Stars Red battled it out in the Juniors Basketball division of the Star Magic All-Star Games 2026 on August 23 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.Armed with youthful energy and a healthy dose of competitive fire, both squads were geared up to leave their mark on the annual celebrity sports event.Holding down the blue side were Rave Victoria, Wakin Canlas, Rocky Labayen, Jan Silva, Marc Nanninga, Binsoy Namoca, Dustine Mayores, Josh Worsley, Iñigo Jose, Diego Gutierrez, and team captain Dylan Yturralde, with MPBL alum Martin Daez as head coach. Bringing some extra luck to Team Blue was their muse, <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/pinoy-big-brother-collab-v2">PBB Collab 2.0</a> ex-housemate Eliza Borromeo, who garnered the highest votes as Fan-Favorite Muse.On the other side of the floor, turning up the heat in their red jerseys were Joaquin Arce, Ice Almeria, Andrez Del Rosario, Lance Lucido, Russu Laurente, JP Cabrera, Marc Santiago, Fred Moser, BGYO&#x27;s Mikki Claver, Robbie Jaworski, and captain Seth Fedelin under head coach JJ Española of Gilas Pilipinas. Cheering on the red-hot squad as their muse was Francine Diaz.In the first quarter, Blue Team opened the game with Nanninga, Mayores, Gutierrez, Yturralde, and Namoca in the starting five. Red Team countered with Moser, Lucido, Almeria, Fedelin, and arguably the most intriguing name in the opening unit for longtime basketball fans, Jaworski.Blue struck first as Yturralde buried a three-pointer to open the scoring. Fedelin answered right back with a triple of his own, matching Yturralde’s opening salvo. Moser soon introduced himself to the game the same way, knocking down an early three.Moser and Almeria worked in tandem to cut into Blue’s lead as Red pushed the pace with fast breaks and quick ball movement. Blue held firm, though, even burning a timeout with just three seconds left to set up one final play. The move paid off as Labayen delivered at the horn, sinking a buzzer-beater to give Team Blue a 13-8 edge after the first quarter.Shooting Stars Blue kept its foot on the gas early in the second quarter, stretching its lead to 17-10 just two minutes in. Shooting Stars Red continued to lean on Moser for offense, prompting Blue to put the clamps on him, but the former collegiate player found his groove and started heating up from the field. And just like in the opening quarter, the Moser-Almeria tandem gave Red Team the offensive spark it needed. The squad put up nine more points, six courtesy of Moser and the other three coming off an Almeria triple, to claw its way back into the game.Blue Team entered the second half with a slim 22-19 lead before Gutierrez took over, scoring the first seven points of the third quarter all by himself. The game only grew more physical from there, with the young players diving for loose balls and battling for every possession.Fedelin breathed some life back into Red Team with a three-pointer that ended Gutierrez’s seven-point run, but Team Blue was difficult to chase down. By the end of the third, the lead had ballooned to nine at 35-26.Blue Team’s lead reached double digits early in the fourth after Labayen opened the period with a basket. Jaworski answered with a bucket of his own as he started to come alive for Red.However, with the deficit growing, Red was running out of time and desperately needed a run. Moser tried to cut into the double-digit gap as his team kept looking for a way back, but the lead proved too much to overcome. Blue Team sealed a commanding 55-35 victory, while Team Red settled for a first runner-up finish.Individual standouts also got their well-deserved recognition, with Team Red’s Moser named Rookie of the Year. Gutierrez, Silva, and Labayen of Shooting Stars Blue joined Shooting Stars Red’s Jaworski and Moser in the Mythical 5. Stuffing the stat sheet with a game-high 30 points, five rebounds, six assists, and three steals, Gutierrez capped his stellar performance as the Most Valuable Player (MVP)Stream the #StarMagicAllStarGames2026 LIVE and catch the All-Star Fancams featuring your fave Star Magic artists for only ₱79*.Go to the ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube Membership and click &quot;JOIN,&quot; or book via iWantTickets.AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE | *Additional charges may apply.

Their impressive plays on the hardcourt earned these ballers well-deserved recognition at Star Magic All-Star Games 2025.

Their impressive plays on the hardcourt earned these ballers well-deserved recognition at Star Magic All-Star Games 2025.