NCAA and UAAP MVPs Troy Mallillin and Juan Gomez de Liano lead the 24 players who will see action in the fourth annual Slam Rising Stars Classic on Sunday on March 26 at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong City.
Mallillin will backstop the Team Punks squad, which also features Sam Abu Hijleh of San Beda, John Lloyd Clemente and Karl Penano of National University, Guilmer dela Torre and Aaron Fermin of Arellano, Dave Ildefonso of Ateneo, Unique Naboa of La Salle Greenhills, Miguel Oczon of Chiang Kai Shek College, Harvey Pagsanjan of Hope Christian High School, Kenji Roman of Far Eastern University, and Jasper Salenga of Mapua.
Team Punks will be coached by PBA legend Willie Miller and assisted by De La Salle Zobel assistant coach Gian Nazario.
Gomez de Liano, meanwhile, will spearhead Team Hype, where he teams up with Carlo Abadeza of Arellano, Rhayyan Amsali and Winderlich Coyoca of NU, LJ Gonzales of FEU, Will Gozum and Rom Junsay of Mapua, Germy Mahinay of San Beda, Robert Minerva of Chiang Kai Shek College, Martin Romero of De La Salle Zobel, Joshua Tagala of San Beda, and Jonas Tibayan of Chiang Kai Shek College.
Alaska's Tony Dela Cruz and assisted by Ateneo head coach Joe Silva will man the sidelines for Team Hype.
Drew Dunlop, an international skills trainer, will head the combine and practice sessions.
"The Slam Rising Stars Classic gives us hoop heads a cheat code, an advanced screening, a quick peek into what the future holds," said Slam Philippines executive editor Nikko Ramos.
"With RSC alumni now becoming some of the biggest names in college basketball, we at Slam take pride in being there for them early: providing for them a unique opportunity to play with and against the best competition, on the biggest stage, in front of scouts, coaches and the rest of the country," he added.
This annual event is backed by Gatorade and Adidas, with Smart as official telecommunications partner, Resorts World Manila as venue partner and supported by Titan.