SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Congratulations, Team C. You've won the Rising Stars competition.
Your reward? A trip to the All-Star Game on Sunday night — where LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are among those who'll be waiting in the second semifinal.
San Antonio's Stephon Castle scored 12 points and won MVP honors, Keyonte George had a 3-pointer for the game-winning score and Team C beat Team G League — composed of players from the NBA’s developmental league — 25-14 in the championship game of the Rising Stars competition to open All-Star weekend on Friday night.
“We all wanted to play on Sunday," Castle said. “We all wanted to win.”
Combined, the seven first- and second-year players on Team C — Castle, George, Phoenix’s Ryan Dunn, Memphis teammates Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells, Golden State’s Trayce Jackson-Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dalton Knecht — have a combined 5,028 points, 25 double-doubles and no triple-doubles in their NBA careers. (An eighth player, Houston's Amen Thompson, was added to the roster after Friday's final.)
“All of us are about to play in our first All-Star Game,” Knecht said. “That's crazy. ... I might play against ’Bron, right? That true? I get to go against one of my teammates. It’s going to be a lot of fun to get a chance to go out there and make a statement.”
Team C — which will go by Candace's Rising Stars on Sunday, named for Candace Parker — will face the team drafted by Shaquille O’Neal in the All-Star semifinal. That means it'll be taking on James, Curry, Durant, Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Damian Lillard and James Harden.
That team, combined: 7,577 NBA games, 188,331 points, 1,812 double-doubles, 243 triple-doubles — and about $2.7 billion in on-court earnings.
But past stats won't mean anything in a first-to-40 game on Sunday night. The NBA stars will surely feel some pressure against a young team that has nothing to lose.
“Nobody will want to lose to that team,” Curry said.
Dink Pate of the Mexico City Capitanes and Leonard Miller of the Iowa Wolves each had five points for the G League team in the Rising Stars final.
Three of the teams in the Rising Stars tournament were named in honor of Golden State’s famed Run TMC days. Team T was named for Tim Hardaway Sr., Team C for Chris Mullin and Team M for Mitch Richmond.
George scored 10 points, Castle made the game-winning jumper and Team C defeated Team T in the first semifinal.
Toronto's Gradey Dick led Team T with 12 points in the first-to-40-points, untimed format.
Bryce McGowens hit a 3-pointer for the winning score and Team G League beat Team M 40-39 in the second semifinal.
Miller had 14 points for Team G League. Houston’s Amen Thompson had 10 points for Team M.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) looks to pass the ball against Washington Wizards forwards Corey Kispert, center, and Tristan Vukcevic (00) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 25, 2025--
The Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) and Seven Seas Water Group (SSWG), a multinational provider of Water-as-a-Service ® (WaaS ® ), have jointly announced the opening of the Ffryes Beach seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant. The plant has a capacity of 1 million imperial gallons per day (IMGD) and will serve the surrounding areas. It is located adjacent to APUA’s existing facility at Ffryes Beach.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250325978847/en/
This is the first of two SWRO plants that APUA and SSWG announced as part of their WaaS ® agreement in March 2024. Once completed, the plant will produce up to 3 million IMGD of drinking water daily for the people of Antigua. The second plant will be located next to APUA’s existing Ivan Rodriguez facility and is expected to begin water production in the third quarter of this year. These plants will ensure a guaranteed supply of high-quality drinking water for Antigua for the next 12 years.
The Honourable Melford Nicholas, Minister of Information, Communication Technologies (ICTs), Utilities, and Energy, highlighted the importance of this achievement, stating: "I am highly impressed by the speed at which the teams from APUA and SSWG have worked to bring this plant online in just 10 months after contract signing. This additional volume will be critical for Antigua, marking the beginning of our ambitious efforts to provide reliable water island-wide. My sincere thanks to the teams at APUA and SSWG."
APUA General Manager John Bradshaw expressed his enthusiasm, saying: "With growing demand from tourism, cruise ships, and residents, I am thrilled to expand our capacity for high-quality, reliable drinking water. The Water-as-a-Service ® model aligns perfectly with our mission to deliver affordable, safe and dependable water while enabling rapid expansion. Thanks to everyone involved, and I look forward to continuing this journey."
Henry Charrabé, CEO of Seven Seas Water Group, emphasized the strong collaboration with the Government of Antigua and APUA, stating:
"We are honored to support Minister Nicholas and APUA’s commitment to expanding and improving local water infrastructure. Delivering this plant in less than a year underscores our ability to deploy water solutions quickly and efficiently. We look forward to further strengthening our presence in the region and continuing to provide sustainable, long-term Water-as-a-Service ® solutions for the people of Antigua."
About Seven Seas Water Group
Headquartered in Tampa, with operations across the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America, Seven Seas Water Group (SSWG) delivers annually over 20 billion gallons of water to industrial, commercial, governmental, municipal, and hospitality customers. SSWG designs, builds, owns and operates, delivers new facilities, or acquires and upgrades existing facilities, with the goal of optimizing project risk transfer between the public and private sectors. With an outstanding reputation for decentralized water and wastewater treatment solutions, the SSWG “Water-as-a-Service ® ” approach seeks to help solve global water and wastewater infrastructure challenges.
About APUA
The Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) was founded on July 4th, 1973, in accordance with the Public Utility Act. APUA functions as a three-part organization, delivering Electricity, Telecommunications, and Water services to the residents of Antigua and Barbuda, ensuring they meet reliable, affordable, and internationally recognized quality standards.
Left to right: John Bradshaw, General Manager APUA, Hon. Melford Nicholas, Minister of Public Utilities, H.E. Sir Rodney Williams, Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda, Erik Arfalk, SVP Business Development SSWG, Tabitha Snowbarger, Antigua and Barbuda Country Officer, U.S. Embassy, John Maginley, SSWG Local Business Advisor, Dan Kennedy, Chief Operating Officer SSWG
