Mix of old and new for Luzon squads in 2019 NBTC League Nationals
Luzon will send a total of 14 teams to the 2019 Chooks-to-Go SM NBTC League National Finals.
NCAA, MMBL, and UAAP powerhouses Mapua, San Beda, National U, La Salle Green Hills, Letran, Ateneo, Hope Christian, and FEU-Diliman all made the cut and the other regions in the largest land mass in the country aren’t going to get left behind either.
Chief among them are Lyceum Cavite and University of Baguio which are powerhouses in their own right in their respective regions.
The Cavite-based Junior Pirates have slowly but surely turned into threats in the NCAA behind homegrown stars such as Mac Guadana and John Barba.
The Red Robins from Baguio, meanwhile, will be making a second straight trip to the 32-team tournament sponsored by Chooks-to-Go, Darlington-Exped Socks, EPSON, Huawei, Freego, Purefoods, Gatorade, Go for Gold, SM, and Molten.
Also making a return to the national championship for high school are Binan, Laguna’s Perpetual Help JONELTA and Legazpi, Albay’s Sto. Domingo National High School.
On the other hand, Narvacan Central National High School from Candon, Ilocos Sur; Isabela Colleges from Cauayan, Isabela; St. Augustine Institute from Floridablanca, Pampanga; and Calayan Educational Foundation from Lucena, Quezon will be making their debuts in the in the week-long showcase of the most promising young talent in the country also presented by TV5 Plus and Lighthouse Events.
The Luzon qualifiers will wage war with 18 other teams in the annual NBTC League Nationals from March 18 to 24 at the MOA Arena.
The tournament semis and finals, alongside the annual All-Star Game, will be aired live on ESPN5. All games, from the seeding round to the championship round, will also be streamed live over at tv5.espn.com
Last year, National U was crowned king of Division 1 while La Salle Lipa ruled Division 2.
LUZON QUALIFIERS: Narvacan Central National High School (Region I), Isabela Colleges (Region II), St. Augustine Institute of Pampanga (Region III), Calayan Educational Foundation (Region IV-A), LPU Cavite (Region IV-B), Perpetual Help JONELTA (Region IV-C), Sto. Domingo National High School (Region V), University of Baguio (CAR), Mapua (NCAA champion), La Salle Green Hills (NCAA runner-up), San Beda (MMBL champion), Letran (MMBL runner-up), NU (UAAP champion), Ateneo (UAAP runner-up), Hope Christian (wildcard), FEU-Diliman (wildcard).
