Ilocos Norte, Sarangani, Cebu, Batangas picked to host inaugural NBTC Regional Championships

Eric Altamirano and Matthew Manotoc

The National Basketball Training Center is ready for some regional madness.

Four locations have been selected to host the inaugural Regional Championships for the 2024 SMART-NBTC National Finals presented by SM Supermalls next year.

Program Director Eric Altamirano says about this new development, "It’s about time we expand the glory of the National Finals to the regions. This is the NBTC’s way of upping the ante as we aim to discover more Filipino talents from the provinces."

The field for these four RCs will be comprised of the winners of the 68 Local City Qualifiers, with the semifinalists from each RC locking in a spot in the National Finals, which is slated to take place this coming March 18-24 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Laoag is hosting the first RC, with the Centennial Arena being the venue for the North Luzon leg this coming January 18-21. Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc says, "We’re honored to be the first to kick off the NBTC RCs and we’re excited to unearth the best young talents from North Luzon."

The remaining RCs will take place at these locations:

• Mindanao: February 1-4 at the Sarangani Sports Training Center, hosted by Governor Rogelio Pacquiao
• Visayas: February 15-18 at the Cebu Coliseum, hosted by the Cebu Landmasters
• South Luzon: February 29-March 3 at the Batangas City Sports Center, hosted by Mayor Beverley Rose A. Dimacuha-Mariño and the University of Batangas.

Select games from these RCs will be streamed worldwide through SMART Livestream application, as well as the Facebook pages of the NBTC and SMART Sports.