NBA Stars Light Up Manila

The world's brightest basketball stars will make their way to Manila for the FIBA Basketball World Cup set from 25 August to 10 September.

National Basketball Association Most Valuable Players Nikola Jokic of Serbia and Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece will not be around, but the prestigious basketball spectacle will remain star-studded with the presence of the likes of Jordan Clarkson of the Philippines, Jonas Valanciunas of Lithuania, Luka Doncic of the Slovenia, Patty Mills of Australia, Dennis Schroeder of Germany, Lauri Markkanen of Finland and Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia.

Clarkson, the 31-year-old Utah Jazz guard who won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2021, will serve as the biggest attraction for the Gilas Pilipinas squad that landed in Group A together with the Dominican Republic, Italy and Angola.

The Dominicans will be powered by Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Chris Duarte of the Sacramento Kings and Al Horford of the Boston Celtics while the Italians will bank on Simone Fontecchio of the Utah Jazz and Bruno Fernando of the Atlanta Hawks.

Clarkson had already signified his commitment to see action for the home squad and is set to leave Los Angeles for Manila on Sunday.

Valanciunas, who played for two years in club leagues in Lithuania before being tapped as the fifth overall pick of the Toronto Raptors in 2011, will also play in Manila as the Lithuanians landed in Group D together with Egypt, Montenegro and Mexico.

Doncic is also set to light up the World Cup.

The dazzling four-time NBA All-Star will be leading the Slovenian squad that will face Cape Verde, Georgia and Venezuela in the preliminaries in Okinawa in Japan.

Should they go all the way to the knockout round, they will earn a trip to the Philippines, which will hold the final round at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Also playing at the Okinawa Arena in Japan are Mills and the Australians, and Schroeder and the Germans while Porzingis and the Latvians will play in Jakarta.

The Australians are in Group E with Germany, Finland and Japan while the Latvians are in Group H with Canada, Lebanon and France.

Aside from Mills, the Australians will parade other NBA players like Xavier Cooks of the Washington Wizards, Dyson Daniels of the New Orleans Pelicans, Dante Exum and Josh Green of the Dallas Mavericks, Joe Ingles of the Orlando Magic, Jock Landale of the Houston Rockets, Matisse Thybulle of Portland Trailblazers and Jack White of the Oklahoma Thunder.

They will face a gritty German side that also has Maxi Kleber of the Dallas Mavericks, Daniel Theis of the Indiana Pacers, and Franz Wagner and Moritz of the Orlando Magic.

Group H will also be star-studded as Canada will be powered by NBA standouts Nickeil Alexander-Walker of the Minnesota Timberwolves, RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks, Oshae Brissett of the Boston Celtics, Dillon Brooks of the Houston Rockets, Luguentz Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cory Joseph of the Golden State Warriors, Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, Kelly Olynyk of the Utah Jazz and Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks.

The United States, for its part, is bringing in young stars led by Paolo Banchero of the Magic, Brandon Ingram of the Pelicans, Jaren Jackson of the Memphis Grizzlies, Mikal Bridges of the Brooklyn Nets, Jalen Brunson of the Knicks, Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves, and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers.

Other high-profile players seeing action are Ricky Rubio of Spain, Mo Bamba of Ivory Coast, and Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum of France.