THE Khalifa-University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars took down the St. Roberts International College (SRIC)-Elite Lab of Iloilo, 62-57, to capture the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) Regional Championship on Sunday, Feb. 18. 2024 at the Willy and Nolita Au Court inside Bacolod Tay Tung High School.
Khalifa-USJ-R trailed by double-figures early on but got back into the ballgame, thanks to the heads-up play of Peter John Peteros, who was later adjudged as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Khalifa-USJ-R took a 32-29 lead at halftime and then, pushed that to nine, 53-44, heading to the fourth.
SRIC-Elite Lab pulled to within one, 52-53, inside the last five minutes, but Jan Vince Oring’s timely triple ignited Khalifa-USJ-R’s 10-4 blast that paved the way for them to claim the regional title.
Khalifa-USJ-R will head to the 2024 Smart-NBTC National Finals presented by SM Supermalls from March 18 to 24 at SM Mall of Asia Arena. There, they will be joined by four more qualifiers from South Luzon; the UAAP and NCAA’s finalists; 10 squads from the NBTC’s Global Partners in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand; and two more wildcard teams who will all duke it out in the Philippine Under-19 basketball championship.
“Our Visayas RC was a rousing success, from the competitive games to the amazing young talent that we all got to watch. All of it wouldn’t have been possible if not for the all-out support of the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental, Gov. Bong Lacson and head of provincial sports Tony Agustin, and generous sponsors Wilford Sy and Rowela Alacapa,” said NBTC program director Eric Altamirano.