ABS-CBN is going to air the first day of the NBA All Star Weekend on Saturday, February 14, live at 10:00 AM as the rookies and sophomores take center stage in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge. TJ Manotoc and Boom Gonzalez will provide commentary straight from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York of the battle between Team USA and Team World.
This year, the Rising Stars Challenge unleashes a new and exciting format that pits US-born NBA youngsters against those who hail from different countries. 10 players from each squad were penciled in by the assistant coaches of the league.
The NBA’ batch of rookies and sophomores are the future All-Stars to replace the LeBrons, Durants, Kobes and Carmelos of this day. The BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge is more than just a glorified scrimmage that will feature lots of offense and no defense until the last two minutes.
KIA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams will lead Team USA in defending its turf against the World team led by the top pick in the 2014 Draft, Andrew Wiggins, who hails from Canada. The US squad will be coached by Alvin Gentry, Steve Kerr’ top assistant with the Golden State Warriors, while the World squad shall be reined in by Kenny Atkinson of the Atlanta Hawks.
Completing the team for Team USA will be Mason Plumlee (BKN), Victor Oladipo (ORL), Elfrid Payton (ORL), Nerlens Noel (PHI), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (DET), Shabazz Muhammad (MIN), Cody Zeller (CHA), Trey Burke (UTA), and Zach LaVine (MIN).
Meanwhile, Wiggins’ help will be Nikola Mirotic (CHI, Montenegro), Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL, Greece), Bojan Bogdanovic (BKN, Bosnia and Herzegovina), Gorgui Dieng (MIN, Senegal), Dante Exum (UTA, Australia), Rudy Gobert (UTA, France), Kelly Olynyk (BOS, Canada), and Dennis Schroder (ATL, Germany). Steven Adams (OKC, New Zealand) will be replaced by Jusuf Nurkic (DEN, Bosnia-Herzegovina) as he underwent surgery for a fractured right hand.
Will this game mark the youngsters’ ascendancy?
Sports analyst TJ Manotoc and play-by-play anchor Boom Gonzalez will introduce these relatively unknown players to the Filipino people as the new role models for aspiring basketball players in the country. The game will be aired live from the Barclays Center over ABS-CBN Channel 2 on February 14 at 10:00 AM. Primetime telecast is at 7:00 PM on ABS-CBN Sports+Action.