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SLIDESHOW: 10 Pinoy high-school ballers to watch

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ABS-CBN News

<p>The recently concluded 10th National Basketball Training Center(NBTC) championship and all-star games, which were aired on S+A, put the spotlight on the country&#x27;s most talented high school players, proving there&#x27;s no shortage of hoops talent in the country.</p><p>In ABS-CBN Sports’ quest to tell the story of the Filipino athlete, it partnered with the NBTC for the tournament held at Mall of Asia Arena this month, a competition that gave aspiring young players a chance to be noticed and fans a preview of the Philippines&#x27; future stars.</p><p>Here are the 10 names that stood out and appear to have the biggest potential.</p><div class="media-content"><div class="slider-for"><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/03/25/nbtc1.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/03/25/nbtc2.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/03/25/nbtc3.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/03/25/nbtc4.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/03/25/nbtc5.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/03/25/nbtc6.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/03/25/nbtc7.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/03/25/nbtc8.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/03/25/nbtc9.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/03/25/nbtc10.jpg"/></div></div></div><div class="media-content slider-desc"><div class="item-desc"><h1 class="heading">Encho Serrano, 17 years old, Adamson University</h1><p>Serrano is one of the players touted as the most college-ready in the loaded NBTC Class of 2017. He has moved on from the controversy that hounded him for the past season and is determined to make everyone’s jaw drop every time he takes the floor. In his stint at the NBTC Division 1 All-Star Game, Serrano showed that despite being “built” for the wings, he can fight it out down low with the big boys, as evidenced by his 17-point, 7-rebound performance. At barely 6-feet, Serrano is expected to be plying his trade and skills as an all-around guard, and not some undersized, Draymond Green-type of forward. But there’s no denying that when he’s in the zone, few people in the UAAP juniors division, and in the whole nation, can stop him.</p></div><div class="item-desc"><h1 class="heading">John Lloyd Clemente, 18, National University</h1><p>Clemente has been making a name for himself through his game and not for sharing the same name with a celebrity. The 6-foot-3 forward has come a long way since his entry into the UAAP juniors, leading NU to championships during the Jeff Napa era. What stands out from the lanky high schooler is his ability to play the shooting guard, small forward, and power forward in small ball situations making him a handful on defense. He takes advantage of his height to shoot over smaller men, while having the length to contend for rebounds and disrupt passing lanes, similar to do-it-all forwards Anthony Espiritu and Kevin Ferrer of UST. Clemente tallied 10 points, grabbed 6 boards, and had an assist and a steal during Team North’s victory over Team South.</p></div><div class="item-desc"><h1 class="heading">Jonas Tibayan, 18, Chiang Kai Shek College</h1><p>About a year ago, Tibayan’s name could be heard louder thanks to his Mythical 5 performance at the Philippine Secondary Schools’ Basketball Championship, representing Chiang Kai Shek College. This got him an invite to the Gilas U-16 team where he averaged 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. What people don’t know is that he was about to be a dual-discipline athlete with volleyball but chose to stay with his first love. Wherever he goes in college, don’t let the 4-point, 5-rebound game he had for Team North fool you; he’s a star in his own right.</p></div><div class="item-desc"><h1 class="heading">SJ Belangel, 17, Ateneo De Manila University</h1><p>Belangel is one of three Blue Eaglets crashing the NBTC all-star party after having stellar outings in the past UAAP juniors season. While Kai Sotto has the best upside and Dave Ildefonso has a game that lives up to his father&#x27;s, Belangel has been Ateneo&#x27;s go-to-guy all season long. The 5-foot-9 point guard is a tank in the high-school ranks and plays much like a big man, racking up absurd rebounding numbers for the position he plays at. Will he be better than say, LA Tenorio, when he goes up in college? Who knows. But what we all know is, among his peers, Belangel is the third-ranked recruit nationally, and probably top of his class. During the NBTC Division 1 All Star Game, Belangel led Team South with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists against only 2 turnovers.</p></div><div class="item-desc"><h1 class="heading">Kai Sotto, 14, Ateneo De Manila University</h1><p>No matter how much people pencil this 6-foot-11 teenager as a center, he seems to be comfortable playing other positions. We are witnessing a unicorn in the making that has the potential to be like Kristaps Porzingis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, or even Kevin Durant. For his height and lankiness, Sotto isn’t your traditional big man. He can put the ball on the floor, has a silky-smooth release that needs fine-tuning before he can do those one-legged Dirk Nowitzki-faders. Being the youngest of everyone participating in the Division 1 ASG, Sotto barely got floor time but managed 5 rebounds in seven minutes of play.</p></div><div class="item-desc"><h1 class="heading">Sam Abu Hijleh, 18, San Beda College</h1><p>People had doubts on Abu Hijleh before — the young Red Cub won’t throw his weight around or he was soft. But instead of getting down, The 6-foot-4 Abu Hijleh burst out of the gates for Season 92 of the NCAA. He was a monster. He shed his baby fat and added a motor that enabled him to average a double-double for the season. If he still has one more growth spurt, he might just land a better chance of being college-ready. Sam only managed to grab a rebound in four minutes of play in the All-Star Game but that doesn’t mean he’s more than ready to dominate in the juniors for one final season.</p></div><div class="item-desc"><h1 class="heading">Kamaka Hepa, 17, (Jefferson HS — Portland, Ore., USA)</h1><p>This guy is the real deal. ESPN ranked him as a 4-star recruit (49th nationally), and 1st in his home state. Rivals 150 ranked him 32nd best in his class, and also No. 1 in his home state. The kid has offers from big-name programs such as Oregon, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas, to play Division 1 US-NCAA basketball like Kobe Paras. What separates Hepa, a 6-foot-9 beast listed as a power forward, from the celebrated Paras, is his ability to play point guard, shooting guard, and small forward. Scouts in America are raving over him and his ability to take his guy to the post, park at mid-range, or take him off the dribble and finish with force. His vision is also tantalizing for he picks teammates off cuts, fastbreaks, and kickouts. Oh, did we mention that he’s also a Fil-American? Hepa only got to play 19 minutes but still managed 9 points, 9 boards, an assist, and a block.</p></div><div class="item-desc"><h1 class="heading">Troy Mallillin, 18, La Salle Greenhills</h1><p>The DLSU commit put up 19 points and 10 boards a game during his swan song in juniors play, allowing him to run away with the NCAA MVP. His game reminds scouts of Jeron Teng before he developed a jump shot. Mallillin is a super athlete built like a tank that just rams straight at his defenders. With DLSU having a gaping hole at the wing position, Mallillin has made head coach Aldin Ayo grin ear to ear when he said yes to the Green Archers, making him the second NCAA juniors MVP the program has nabbed after 4th year forward Prince Rivero. In true Mallillin fashion, he bullied Team South for 16 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist.</p></div><div class="item-desc"><h1 class="heading">Sherwin Concepcion, 18, Mapua-Malayan High School</h1><p>Concepcion has been terrorizing NCAA juniors play for quite some time now. The Grade 11 Red Robin is so versatile that people don’t know whether to dare him to shoot (he’s a very dangerous bomber), or let him rough it up in the post (he is still categorically Mapua’s inside presence). He has expressed interest in engineering as a career Plan B. But when you almost average a double-double playing as a 6-foot-3 forward, it’s almost uncanny how one can think that Concepcion is breaking down his opponents the way he breaks down math problems in class. Concepcion was the leading scorer for Team South, with 19 points and 6 rebounds, making it rain from downtown and midrange.</p></div><div class="item-desc"><h1 class="heading">Juan Gomez de Liaño, 17, University of the Philippines</h1><p>The reigning UAAP juniors MVP is the younger brother of current UP Fighting Maroon, Javi. What sets apart the younger GDL (as they are fondly called) is his ability to pull up from anywhere whereas big bro always finds a way to get into the teeth of the defense. While his brother was a double-double machine, Juan always had a flair for directing the whole team as a big point guard. His height alone is a big boon for he can see over the top of defenders especially when he drives to the basket and keeps finding people the only way he can. He tallied 16 points on just 9 shots while grabbing 6 rebounds during the NBTC Division 1 All-Star Game.</p></div></div><p>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/" target="_blank">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</p>

<p>The recently concluded 10th NBTC championship and all-star games put the spotlight on the country's most talented high school players, proving there's no shortage of hoops talent in the country.</p>

The recently concluded 10th NBTC championship and all-star games put the spotlight on the country's most talented high school players, proving there's no shortage of hoops talent in the country.