NATIONAL University-Nazareth School defeated Fil-Nation Select USA, 75-64, on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena to bag its third straight title in Division 1 of the 2023 Smart-NBTC National Finals presented by SM.
Reinhard Jumamoy captured the Ato Badolato-Most Outstanding Player award after he finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, and five steals, helping the Bullpups pull away late a tightly-contested championship game.
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RJ Colonia put together a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Bullpups, who have now won their fourth NBTC title overall under different coaches, including Jeff Napa and Goldwin Monteverde.
“Hindi namin iniisip na pang-apat na ito,” said NU coach Kevin De Castro, who took over the position after Monteverde got the coaching job of the University of the Philippines' college team.
“Sinabi ko lang sa boys na parang Gilas vs USA. ‘Yun ‘yung fire na ginamit ko sa kanila going to this game. We had a chance to redeem ourselves dito sa NBTC pagkatapos namin matalo sa UAAP,” said De Castro.
Jason Mandaquit added 16 points and six rebounds, while Jason Bayla had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Fil-Nation Select.
Jumamoy, Colonia, Mandaquit, and the Sacred Heart School pair of Jared Bahay and Raffy Celis captured spots in the Mythical Five.
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