Australian high school teams named to take on Asia's best

The NBA today announced that two-time WNBA champion Lauren Jackson and three-time NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings; Lithuania) will headline the inaugural NBA Rising Stars Invitational, the league’s first regional high-school basketball tournament that will feature boys’ and girls’ teams from 11 countries across Asia-Pacific competing at the Kallang Tennis Hub in Singapore.

The tournament, running from Wednesday, June 25 – Sunday, June 29, is part of a multiday immersive basketball and entertainment festival.

Sabonis and Jackson will be joined by current Phoenix Suns players Ryan Dunn (U.S.) and Oso Ighodaro (U.S.) and B.LEAGUE player Keisei Tominaga (Japan).  NBA Legend Yao Ming (China) will make special appearances, including attending the opening ceremony on June 25.  

The players and legends will interact with youth participants on-and-off the court throughout the week.  The NBA Rising Stars Invitational will also feature live entertainment, including performances by the Los Angeles Lakers dance team, the Laker Girls and Miami Heat mascot Burnie.

Australia will be represented by Berwick College in the boys division, and Flinders Christian College in the girls division.

The five-day tournament will tip off with round-robin play from June 25-27 before advancing to single-elimination semi-finals and final games on June 28 and 29.  The participating players will also take part in skill development, social responsibility programming and off-court activities promoting cultural exchange.  Additionally, top individual performers from the event will have the opportunity to attend future NBA basketball development camps, showcases and programs.

The participating high-school teams were identified in collaboration with local basketball federations and leagues.  In the Philippines, the NBA through its local event agency conducted a local qualifying event to determine its representatives.  The following is the complete list of teams competing in the NBA Rising Stars Invitational (teams subject to change):

Fans can visit www.nba.com/risingstarsinvitational and follow NBA Rising Stars Invitational on Instagram for the latest news and updates.  Visit www.nba.com/RSI-Ticketing to redeem free tickets to the event.