Bright future

San Beda University has arguably been the best high school basketball program in the country, much of that impression owing to its 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) juniors titles.

The last one, of course, was won just this year after the Red Cubs defeated the Lyceum Junior Pirates in the best-of-three finals series.

With the NCAA’s high school hoops wars over and done, I looked back at the available stats and composed my list of the top NCAA juniors players from Season 95.

There’s a good chance I may have missed some really good talents, but based on the games I’ve watched and the numbers I’ve crunched, here are, for me, the top performers this past season.

Rhayyan Amsali (San Beda) — The Ateneo de Zamboanga product has hopped around the metro’s high school basketball landscape, first playing for National University (NU) in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines before making his way to Rizal and joining San Beda.

The former Batang Gilas star averaged around 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.0 steal in Season 95, and he should be among the most sought after recruits heading into the collegiate wars in 2020.

Justine Sanchez (San Beda) — This Tarlac native stepped up big time for the Red Cubs this season, especially with Batang Gilas mainstay Joshua Lazaro transferring to Loyola Heights.

Sanchez upped his numbers from around 6.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in Season 94 to 14.0 points and 8.0 boards this season. At around 6-foot-5, Sanchez should be a tantalizing prospect for college teams looking for a solid frontline addition.

Yukien Andrada (San Beda) — I was with Andrada at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup in Argentina last year, and I saw so much potential in the 6-foot-5 stretch big man as he played back-up to Kai Sotto and Carl Tamayo in the paint.

This season, however, Andrada took a big leap in production, posting close to 14.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest and forming a rock-solid frontcourt.

He’s another can’t-miss frontline prospect for the seniors’ division.

John Barba (Lyceum) — Coming out of Talisay, Batangas, John Ronald Barba just took the league by storm this season, leading the NCAA juniors in scoring with close to 21 points per game, which increased from his already impressive 18 points per game last season.

Barba is a surefire scoring machine, able to finish at the cup, shoot from deep, and even hit from the stripe. He’s going to be a problem for a lot of teams when he sees action in college very soon.

Mac Guadaña (Lyceum) — Like Yukien, Guadaña was also part of the Batang Gilas U17 World Cup squad last year, and though he was undersized as a wingman when ranged against foes from Europe, the Americas, and Africa, he was still able to show a penchant for hitting shots.

He was a heavy usage players this season, playing more than 30 minutes per game for the Junior Pirates and averaging around 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 triples per outing.

Milo Janao (San Sebastian) — Emerging from Assumption Montessori School in Cagayan de Oro, Janao already led the Staglets in scoring last season with 15.7 points per game, and though his point production dipped a bit to 14.3 ppg this season, he remained San Sebastian’s top player.

The versatile and explosive perimeter player hit around 1.4 triples per game in Season 95 and was just a whirling dervish on offense.

RC Calimag (La Salle Green Hills) — Calimag is already in his third high school team after playing for San Beda and then De La Salle-Zobel in years past, but the second-generation player really seems to have found a sweet spot with the Junior Blazers.

The former Batang Gilas standout was a consistent 20-point scorer this season for coach Karl Santos, while also adding a sprinkle of rebounds, dimes, and steals. Most impressive, however, was how he became a legit three-point threat, hitting 2.7 treys per game at a 41.5 percent clip.

Kobe Palencia (La Salle Green Hills) — I first coached against Palencia at the PRADA juniors level when he was still playing for University of Santo Tomas two years ago.

He was teammates with former Batang Gilas forward Bismarck Lina then, and they formed a dynamic duo. Now, Palencia has blossomed into the Robin to Calimag’s Batman in Green Hills, helping the Junior Blazers to a Final Four appearance in Season 95.

He proved to be an excellent playmaker, leading the entire league in assists this season with 5.0 a game.

Chris Recto (Arellano) — Recto was one of the surprised of the season, helping Arellano notch a couple of upsets and even threatening to barge into the Final Four.

He was a Swiss Army knife for the Braves, recording around 11.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and two treys per contest.

CJ Saure (Letran) — Saure is a product of Pangasinan, but he made waves this season in Intramuros for the Squires, who, unfortunately, found themselves finishing outside of the Final Four with just seven wins in 18 games.

Despite that, Saure was a beacon of light for Letran, improving his numbers from Season 94 to Season 95.

He led the Squires with 14.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting close to 50 percent from the field.

Joshua Ramirez (Letran) — The former Chiang Kai Shek Blue Dragon and NU Bullpup debuted for Letran in Season 95, and he was a fine offensive option for the Squires.

True to his reputation as a perimeter gunner, Ramirez hit 2.1 triples per game this season en route to averaging 13.1 points per contest. The former Batang Gilas three-point specialist should be another interesting persona in the collegiate recruitment wars for 2020.

Jonnel Policarpio (Mapua) — This Pampanga native was, at least for me, perhaps the best big man in the entire NCAA Juniors this past season, posting a sublime double-double of 19.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.

The Slam Rising Star’s size, athleticism, and length give him the needed skill-set to be a potential star big man in college, so don’t be shocked if he hogs the headlines sooner rather than later.