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2025 Philly Live II: Friday Standouts (Pt. 2)

06/28/2025, 11:45am EDT

By CoBL Staff

By CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The annual two-weekend hoopfest that is Philly Live 2025 continued on Friday, with 10 courts of action going between the gyms at Jefferson University and the Alan Horwitz ‘Sixth Man’ Center from first tip-off at 12:00 p.m. to the final tip at 8:10 p.m.

CoBL had writers and scouts scattered throughout both gyms, checking out as much of the competition as we could. Here’s Pt. 2 of who stood out in games we were able to get our eyes on during the first day of action (CLICK HERE for Pt. 1):

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Bray Jones (2026 | East Catholic, Conn.)
In the nightcap against Penncrest, Jones had an active first half, crashing the boards, moving off-ball inside the paint, and knocking down a three. Then he mustered up the strength to turn the motor up even higher in the second. The 6-9 forward barreled his way to the cup from different spots and finished with either hand. His output in that period helped nullify all of the threes Penncrest was hitting. So although the Eagles came up short, Jones had a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds.

DJ Jones (2027 | Cardinal O'Hara)
The 6-7 rising junior wing scored 16 in O’Hara’s dramatic, last-second 51-49 victory over Montgomery (N.J.). The lefty made his first two shots, a three from distance and a pull-up jumper. Then, he went cold, before reigniting in the second half, scoring 11 of his team-high 16 points. He was fundamentally sound, boxing out, displaying great athleticism and willingness to play defense. The son of former St. Joe’s great and current Hawks’ assistant coach Dwayne Jones, DJ transferred into O’Hara from Sanford High School (Del.) to go against better opposition in the Philadelphia Catholic League. Even his misses looked pretty. He was willing to play defense, and he is still growing into his body.

Nathan Lee (2027 | Audenried)
When the Rockets faced Smyrna, the only thing that could slow Lee down was a busted lip — and even that wasn't for long. Everything for the Rockets went through him when they had their groove. No matter what side of the basket he was on, the 6-6 forward would post up and hit his defender with a physical move or catch drop-off passes and quickly explode up to finish. And even when things weren't going through him, he still often finished off the play. With almost half of his rebounds coming on offense, Lee's assertiveness on the glass gave Smyrna trouble all game. He totaled about 21 points and 15 boards.

Paul VI 2028 7-footer Toussant Malukila. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

Toussant Malukila (2028 | Paul VI, N.J.)
The Paul VI 7-footer stood about a half a foot taller than any of his foes in a loss to Cathedral Prep on Friday, and made sure to take advantage with 22-point, 10-rebound, three-block performance. Malukila, who said he’s only his third year playing basketball, has good hands and a naturally soft touch. He converted just about everything inside of five feet. He has a motor to continually battle for position and went 6-for-10 from the line, showing the signs of a solid jumper that could become a weapon in the midrange. A former soccer player, he has some solid feet for a young big man as well, whether that’s using a drop step to go over his shoulder on offense or roaming the lane on defense.

Kamal Mason (2027 | Cheltenham)
Mason is a 5-foot-9 point guard who directs the offense for the Panthers. His goal with the ball in his hands is to create an easy look for his team. He did so plenty of times in a 90-65 win over Dallastown at the Sixth Man Center. Mason finished with 15 points and had eight points and three assists alone in the second half. He’s got some strength on his 5-foot-9 frame and has no problem getting into the lane and working out of there and getting tight on defense and putting the pressure on. When he got into the lane Friday, he looked off the defense to dish down low for layups or kicked to the corner. In the second half he found himself open behind the 3-point line, knocking down three shots from deep.

Aidan McDonald (2026 | Holy Ghost Prep)
McDonald is a three-year starter for the Firebirds, and he looks like he’ll have the keys to the offense under third-year coach Tom Heston. McDonald had 10 points in a 66-53 win over J.P. McCaskey on Friday at the Sixth Man Center but his impact went well beyond that. He plays with good feel and vision and seems to know his teammates well. A 5-10 guard who can shoot it, McDonald isn’t afraid to get to the hoop either.

Nando Mirarchi (2026 | Cathedral Prep)
Mirarchi put together one of the most dominant performances of the day on Friday at the Sixth Man Center, and made it look awfully easy in doing so. The 5-foot-11 guard finished with 30 points, five steals and a pair of no-look dimes in a 77-53 win over Paul VI (N.J.). His defense stole the show early as he was a blur on the court, flying around and causing havoc both on and off the ball. He got out and ran in transition for some easy looks. But in the half court Mirarchi pretty much did whatever he wanted as well, using his burst to slither past defenders and into the lane for a contested finish or pass to a teammate. He added a three too in the well-rounded effort.

Mikey Mita (2026 | Penncrest)
Mostly operating out on the perimeter, Mita was a chess piece for the Lions in their overtime victory over East Catholic. A stretch forward, he took advantage of his matchup by draining three triples in the first half. Next, he attacked a closeout, spun, and made a tough layup. Then in the second half, the defense denied and face guarded him above the three-point line. So he went to work below it, setting off-ball screens to free up shooters and hitting a pair of middies himself. Mita led a well-balanced offense with 15 points.

Xavier Mitchell (2026 | Dock Mennonite)
The 6-7 rising senior forward was one of the few bright spots in Dock Mennonite’s 64-41 loss to Elkton (Md). He finished with 14 points, showing a variety of moves, including an up-and-under move on the baseline that resulted in a three-point play. He is a very good athlete who proved he has a handle for someone so used to playing with his back to the basket most of his high school career. He showed good hands, but needs to finish better around the basket.

Derrick Morton-Rivera (2026 | Father Judge)
When the Crusaders took down Coatesville, Morton-Rivera’s jumpers might as well have been uncontested layups. They were easy for him, primarily coming off of movement or spot-ups. If defenders tried to close out hard, it was too late. He was already in-rhythm to fire before he caught the ball. The handful of times his shot wasn't there, Morton-Rivera made quick decisions to hit someone cutting to the rim or put the ball on the deck and got to the rim himself. In the end, the area’s top shooter canned six threes on the way to 24 points.

Parkland 2027 wing Blake Nassry. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Blake Nassry (2027 | Parkland)
Parkland absolutely ran away from Tatnall (Del.) in a 60-27 win, so the starters only played for the first half and a little bit of the second before giving way to the bench to close things out. Nassy, a 6-4 wing and Parkland’s budding star wing, scored all of his 16 points in the first half, doing it on a mix of outside shooting (2-4 3PT) and attacking the bucket; he had a few physical takes that saw him basically drag a defender along with him to the hoop, one of which became an and-one opportunity though others went without a whistle; he also added three rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Max Okebata (2026 | La Salle College HS)
The Explorers’ most experienced returner on the floor Friday played with an aggressive style that helped set the tone for his team in a 58-57 win over J.P. McCaskey at the Sixth Man Center. Okebata, a strong 6-foot-3 guard, tallied 15 points and seven assists. He made it his mission to get downhill on offense, playing through contact and some hard falls to the floor. He was just as relentless on the glass, earning extra possession for his team on the offensive end or corralling the ball on the other end of the floor and pushing the pace.

Riverside 2027 Brayden Rose. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Brayden Rose (2027 | Riverside)
A 6-4 wing guard, Rose put together a high-level overall performance for Riverside in an early afternoon win over State College at the Sixth Man Center. Stuffing the stat sheet, he went for 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting (4-8 3PT), adding six assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Rose hit a number of tough jumpers from inside and outside the arc with a hand right in his face, showing his ability to find space in a defense, and he was also doing a good job of being unselfish and finding teammates for spot-up 3-pointers, while the steals and blocks are indicative of his strong defensive effort. Later on against Pope John Paul II, Rose erupted for a game-high 32 points (12-24 FG) with 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Is noticeably growing in strength and production on the court.

Jah Sabb (2026 | Samuel Fels)
Playing in a Fels uniform for the first time after announcing his transfer to the Public League school after a year at Chester Charter, Sabb stepped right into the Sabers’ lead guard role, putting on his usual high-scoring show with a variety of step-backs, mid-range jumpers, and takes to the hoop. Sabb had to rely on that mid-range jumper a good bit against an Arts team with length all over the court, but he’s got a great head-fake and ability to change speeds and create space with an assortment of moves, and his jumper was falling with regularity in the comeback win over Arts.

Logan Shaw (2026 | Smyrna, Del.)
With the Eagles being at a size disadvantage inside the paint against Universal Audenried, Shaw led his team's aggressive attack from the mid-range and outside the arc. The 6-4 wing would've excited basketball traditionalists with the way he got to his spots inside the zone. His jumpers from the high post and short corner were easy money. As he got in rhythm, he steadily expanded his range to threes. Shaw hit four threes from various places around the arc, with three of them in the second half to help his squad run away with the lead. He finished with a game-high 25 points, four rebounds, two steals and one block.

Gabe Skehan (2027 | Cardinal O'Hara)
The 6-1 rising junior guard did a lot of everything for O’Hara in its last-second 51-49 victory over Montgomery (N.J.). He showed he had a great motor, running after everything. He also was not afraid to crash the boards, with one sequence in the second half grabbing three offensive rebounds to keep a possession alive, and finally closing the possession with a layup himself. In a tight game, Skehan was even willing to take a charge in a summer session live period. He finished with eight points.

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