Free entrance for NBTC National Finals

Carl Tamayo helping lead Nazareth-NU to the NBTC National Finals title last year

Fans have all the reason to check out the de facto top HS tournament in the country at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The NBTC announced Sunday that the entire 2019 Chooks-to-Go NBTC National Finals presented by SM is going to be free admission.

All those interested to watch the matches, starting with the Seeding Round tomorrow until the Final on March 24 just need to present a valid ID and they can get their free ticket. If one is unable to watch it in-person at the MOA Arena, the NBTC's Facebook page will be streaming the matches starting tomorrow. In addition, the semifinals, finals, and the All-Star Game will be televised on 5Plus.

32 teams are involved, with half of them playing in the Seeding Round, including all six overseas-based squads. Once that is settled, knockout rounds can commence on Tuesday.

The NBTC also on Sunday revealed the schedule for said round, with matches starting at 8am and ending twelve hours later. The complete schedule can be seen below:

8am Holy Trinity College (General Santos) - Lyceum-Cavite (28/29th seed)
930am University of Baguio - Dolores National High School (Eastern Samar) (27/30th seed)
11am Narvacan National High School (Candon) - Isabela Colleges-Cauayan (25/32nd seed)
1230pm Sta. Clarita International School (Iloilo) - Zamboanga del Sur National High School (26/31st seed)

2pm Far Eastern University - Durham Crossover (Canada) (10/15th seed)
330pm Italy Europe Proudly Pinoy - Hope Christian High School (9/16th seed)
5pm FilAm Sports USA - AusPinoy (Australia) 12/13th seed
630pm Top Flight Hoops Vancouver - Camp David (New Zealand) (11/14th seed)

Defending champions Nazareth-NU are the top seeds in the National Finals and will play on Tuesday in the Super 32. The Bullpups are seeking to be first squad to successfully defend the NBTC title in its 12-year history, and with the quartet of Carl Tamayo, Gerry Abadiano, Terrence Fortea, and Kevin Quiambao, they have what it takes to pull off such a feat.

Potential obstacles for Nazareth-NU's title defense includes the team they beat in the recently-concluded UAAP HS finals, Ateneo de Manila, who have the NBTC's top HS school player in the country in Kai Sotto. Other threats include the NCAA HS champions Mapua/Malayan, NBTC Cebu champions Southwestern University-PHINMA, and the team the Bullpups beat for the NBTC title last year, La Salle-Greenhills.

FilAm Sports USA is perceived as the top overseas threat in the NBTC, as they are led by Jalen Green, the 2nd ranked player in ESPN 2020 HS rankings. Backstopping Green are Jeron Artest and Eli Ramos.

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, and also presented by ESPN5 and Lighthouse Events.