(Photo Credit: KC Cruz) Basic Information Name: John Lloyd Clemente Age: 18 School/Team: NU Bullpups Years of eligibility left: 0 (Graduating)  Committed to: NU Bulldogs  Height: 6'3" Position: Small Forward Projected Position: Shooting Guard/Small Forward  Quick Hits Strengths: - Capable shooter from outside - Great at moving without the ball - Great size for a collegiate wing - Perfect example of a team player - High basketball IQ Weaknesses: - One on one defense needs work - Isn't able to completely use his athleticism - Needs to work on dribbling It's easy to brand a player as college-ready. It can be because he's physically superior compared to his peers. It can also mean that he was able to put up statistics which are incredibly impressive for someone his age. Or, it can be as simple as receiving a number of accolades. John Lloyd Clemente doesn't exactly fit the bill as any of those. He isn't physically superior by any m

Long revered as the most college-ready prospect in High School basketball, John Lloyd Clemente has decided which college he'll be bringing his skills to. JLC is staying home. (Photo Credit: Dante Peralta, Spin.ph) John Lloyd Clemente confirmed reports that he has committed to play for the NU Bulldogs in College. He ended his High School career averaging 16.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. JLC was also named as a member of the Mythical Five, and was named as an All-Star for the NBTC All-Star game and the SLAM Rising Stars Classic. Why NU over other schools? It was actually a rather simple decision to make for John Lloyd. "Dito (NU) ako nakilala and dito din ako nagumpisa," mentioned Clemente. The pride of Pampanga helped the Bullpups program reach three straight Finals appearances, and he was able to bring one championship in that run. He wants to do the same for the College program of NU. "Gusto ko na magbigay ng karangalan sa NU sa college bas

The SLAM Rising Stars Classic has long served as a breeding ground for some of the future stars of College Basketball. College mainstays such as Green Archer Aljun Melecio, Blue Eagle Thirdy Ravena and FEU Tamaraw Hubert Cani. These players were already sought after even before the Rising Stars Classic, but playing well in the game simply solidified their status as among the very best in High School hoops. (Photo Credit: Jaime Campos, Spin.PH) The same could be said for this year's iteration of the Rising Stars Classic, as UAAP Juniors MVP Juan Gomez de Liano was able to solidify his status as one of the best High School players in the country after his MVP performance in the game. However, it wasn't just Juan who was able to put on a show. Here are some of the other names who impressed in the Rising Stars Classic: Juan Gomez de Liano Of course, we have to talk about the Juan (*gets tackled*) who was crowned with the MVP plum during the all star game. That's

The NBTC All-Star Game was a rather memorable one. (Photo Credit: Winston Baltasar, Sports5) High School All-Star Games should never be the main basis of a person with regards to his/her assessment of a player. It’s too different of a setting compared to an actual game, and of course, it’s too small of a sample size. Despite that, High School All-Star Games are still a decent enough medium to use when assessing players. Not only is it a stage that’s more accessible to many, but it’s also a good test of how players will manage to mesh with their equally talented peers in such a short amount of time. The NBTC held the Division 1 All-Star Game last March 16 at the Mall of Asia Arena. Encho Serrano of the North team was named All-Star MVP, but he wasn’t the sole player who impressed during that game. There were other prospects who were as good (or some were even better) as Serrano, yet they weren’t able to receive as much recognition as the Adamson Baby Falcons standout.

At the end of the day, we may call him one of the biggest what-ifs in Philippine Basketball. (Photo Credit: Spin.ph) The NBTC tournament this year has received quite some hype thanks to the reported involvement of Ron Harper Jr. (yes, the son of THAT Ron Harper). Sadly, Harper Jr. couldn't show up, so we had to look for someone to hype on elsewhere. The reality of it was, even when Harper was supposed to join the tournament, the guy who we were supposed to be hyping up was just lurking in the shadows. That player is none other than 6'9" forward, Kamaka Hepa. Kamaka Hepa is a 17 year old Fil-Am who plays for Jefferson High School. But since Hepa hailed from Alaska initially, he didn't receive much attention from the Filipino crowd. There were articles done on him by SLAM and SLAM Philippines, but those articles didn't create much traction for Hepa. So when news of him arriving in the country released, only some fans/analysts were excited for the prospec

This should have been the headline match-up last Sunday. But that wasn't the case. (Photo Credit: ESPN) March 12 (11, for those in the States) was much anticipated by many for the simple reason that the Spurs and the Warriors were set to do battle for only the second time this season. Never mind that the Spurs utterly obliterated the Dubs during their first contest together. Never mind as well that Kevin Durant was set not to play since he's out with a knee injury. This was a battle between two teams that had some of the biggest names in the league. Then all of a sudden, the much awaited match-up between the two teams wasn't awaited anymore. In a rather surprising move, Coach Steve Kerr opted to rest four of the members of his vaunted Death Line-up in Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andre Igoudala. On the other side of the fence, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker and Dejounte Murray were all ruled out because of various reasons.

Is he truly High School basketball's best? (Photo Credit: Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports) Basic Information Name: Encho Serrano  Age: 17 School/Team: Adamson Baby Falcons Years of eligibility left: 1 Height: 5'11" Position: Combo Forward Projected Position: Combo Guard Quick Hits Strengths: - Good strong body - Considered as very athletic in any level of basketball - Can play multiple positions - Team player - High basketball IQ Weaknesses: - Has limited upside given his size - Jumper needs work - Needs to transition to point guard to do well in the collegiate and professional level Just recently, a group of coaches and basketball analysts came together to grade the top High School basketball players in the country. The four of the top five consisted of former national team players, while one of them is a controversial name in the High School basketball scene. The other four? John Lloyd Clemente, SJ Belangel, Juan Gomez de Liano and Jonas Tibayan