Following a thrilling 3-day basketball tournament dubbed #MadnessInNegrosOcci, the NBTC Visayas Regional Championship capped off with Cebu’s KHALIFA-USJR (University of San Jose-Recoletos) crowned as the Visayas Conference champion.
From central Negros, Trinity-Davies Paint/El Tzino also secured a slot to the finals, which will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena (MOA) in March.
KHALIFA-USJR secured the championship title, wrapping up a dominant run with a 5-point lead over Iloilo’s St. Robert’s International College Elite Lab (SRIC-Elite Lab) with a final score of 62-57 in their final game on Sunday at the Willy and Nolita Au Court at the Bacolod Tay Tung High School campus.
The strong contender from Cebu also took the win against Trinity-Davies Paint/El Tzino after a tight game that ended with a score of 68 – 67 during their semi-final game.
SRIC-Elite Lab will continue its NBTC journey to MOA after receiving the first runner-up trophy, following its loss to KHALIFA-USJR in the final round. However, the team emerged victorious against Don Bosco Greywolves of Dumaguete City with a score of 76-70 during its semi-final game.
Despite experiencing defeats, both Trinity-Davies Paint/El Tzino and Don Bosco Greywolves are advancing to the NBTC National Finals in Manila, along with KHALIFA-USJR and SRIC-Elite Lab, being the top four teams from the Visayas region.
The awarding ceremony was led by NBTC Program Director Coach Frederick “Eric” Altamirano with Anthony Carlo Agustin, Negros Occidental’s Executive Assistant for Sports. The NBTC Visayas Regionals was held in collaboration with the Province of Negros Occidental as its partner LGU. It is also part of the Abanse Negrense Sports Programs of Governor Eugenio Jose V. Lacson.
The opening ceremony on February 16 was spearheaded by Gov. Lacson, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, Inc. (SBP) Executive Director Erika Caitlin Dy, SBP Technical Academy head Andrew Teh, and Coach Eric Altamirano.
Sixteen teams vied for the top four slots to qualify for the NBTC National Finals dubbed #MadnessInMOA to be held next month. In the Visayas conference, Negros Occidental was represented by five teams including Notre Dame – Talisay City (North Negros Local Qualifying Champion), Municipality of Pontevedra (South Negros Local Qualifying Champion), Trinity-Davies Paint/El Tzino (Central Negros Local Qualifying Champion), STI West Negros University, and Bacolod Tay Tung High School (Central Negros representatives).
Other participating teams included Melchor Memorial School Inc. (Aklan), KHALIFA-USJR (Cebu), Calbayog Starhoopsters (Calbayog, Samar), Antique Rising Stars (Antique), WLC Ormoc City Mustangs (Ormoc City, Leyte), SRIC (St. Robert’s International College)-Elite Lab (Iloilo), Jordan National High School (Guimaras), Hiraya Grassroots (Tacloban), Hercor College Jaguars (Capiz), Don Bosco Greywolves (Dumaguete), and Oasis Ballers Coach W See (Eastern Samar).
The NBTC Visayas Regional Championship was broadcast through a livestream on NBTC Philippines and SMART Sports Facebook pages.
The NBTC National Finals are set next month at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. It is a 7-day tournament that will feature 32 participating teams, including the regional champions, top 4 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) teams, global participants, and the Wild Card qualifiers.*
