Letran, Durham Crossover secure Fantastic 8 berths in NBTC

Letran's John Tabajen vs Hope Christian in the 2019 NBTC Nationals Supreme 16

Early tickets have been issued for the Fantastic 8 of the 2019 Chooks-to-Go NBTC National Finals presented by SM, with Letran and Durham Crossover being the early beneficiaries.

The Squires kicked off Day three action with a come-from-behind 60-57 win over Hope Christian High School. John Tabajen took charge in helping Letran overcome a 12-point halftime deficit with his twelve points and twelve rebounds. His putback late helped secure the Supreme 16 victory.

Andrei Romenez led Letran in scoring with fourteen points, with CJ Saure (thirteen points and twelve rebounds) and Shawn Umali (ten points and sixteen rebounds) also grabbing double-doubles in the victory.

Harvey Pagsanjan led Hope Christian with nineteen points and five rebounds, but he sat out the final three minutes after getting called for his second unsportsmanlike foul.

Meanwhile, Durham Crossover finally breaks through to the Fantastic 8 after ending Sta. Clarita International School's Cinderella run, 109-75.

Tyler Garcia led the Toronto-based team with 32 points, while Marc Casilla added seventeen points and seven rebounds.

At the Palm Coast Marina, the quest to secure spots in the Div II Fantastic 8 also went underway, with Sto. Domingo National High School and First City Providential College earning the first couple of spots.

SDNHS of Legazpi defeated Narvacan National High School, 72-62, with Medwin Ariate scoring seventeen points, while John Nagar added sixteen markers and JD Areno contributing fifteen points and nine rebounds.

FCPC dispatched NBTC-Cebu runners-up University of San Jose-Recoletos, 75-50. Neil Moralejo led the Royal Eaglets with nineteen points, seven assists, and six rebounds. John Bravo followed up his 42-point performance with a 12-point and 16-rebound double-double, while adding three assists. Theo Pablico added fifteen markers.

The 2019 Chooks-to-Go NBTC National Finals presented by SM is also sponsored by Darlington-Exped Socks, EPSON, Huawei, Freego, Purefoods, Gatorade, Go for Gold, and Molten. It is also presented by ESPN5 and Lighthouse Events. Admission is free with a valid ID.