MANILA (FIBA U17 World Championship) - If you're wondering what to expect from the Philippines at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship, just remember the following names: Jolo Mendoza and the Nieto twins, Mike and Matt.

Mendoza will be flying around the court making plays, while the Nieto brothers will provide plenty of heart for the Asian side.

Last summer started with Mendoza being named the MVP of the U16 Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) tournament. He then poured in 28 points in the Philippines' 77-72 Semi-Final win over Chinese Taipei at the FIBA Asia U16 Championship, where Michael Ray Jarin's team qualified for the U17 Worlds for the first time.

Jose 'Jolo' Lorenzo Mendoza, who was a year younger than the competition and only turned 16 on January 31, added 20 points in the Final but the Philippines could not knock off China.

Jarin is expecting big things from his young guard Mendoza.

"Jolo is an underage phenom. He has the making of a legit superstar," said the coach.

"We expect him to lead us in scoring and make plays for our team. He has tremendous competitive attitude. He will be a force to reckon with in Dubai."

Mendoza, only stands 1.75m tall but has the maturity and composure of a professional player. He will need to have a big tournament for the U17 Worlds debutants, who will take on the USA, Greece and Angola in Group A.

But Jarin's team doesn't rely only on Mendoza. Two other key players will be the Mike and Matt Nieto.

"Mike is the heart and soul of this team. He provides the leadership on and off the court. He brings everybody together," Jarin said of the 1.88m power forward, whose passion makes up for his lack of size.

"I expect him to play his heart out again in this world championships."

The coach is expecting a lot from Mike Nieto.

"He needs to get his rebounds and knock down his jumpers from the outside. He needs to increase his range. He has been working on his three-point shot and his perimeter attacks."

At 1.85m, Matt is just a shade shorter than Mike but serves as the team's point guard, where he has solid size and plays an all-around game, as evidenced by his 11 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals in the Semi-Final win over Chinese Taipei last summer.

"Matt is an exceptional player. He makes his teammates look good. He plays solid defense and will put stability in our offense," said Jarin.

The Mendoza and Nieto trio don't just know each other from the national team, they also play together for the Ateneo Blue Eaglets in coordination with the Ateneo de Manila University.

That familiarity with one another will also be a big help as the Philippines head to Dubai hoping "Jolo and the Twins" can become somewhat of a big hit this summer.

FIBA