ATENEO is stepping up to the plate as a last-minute invite to the 2023 Smart-NBTC National Finals presented by SM from March 15 to 19 at Mall of Asia Arena.
The young Blue Eagles, who finished at joint fifth in UAAP Season 85 Boys Basketball, have been invited to the national high school championship as alternate for San Beda which begged off a day after clinching its berth.
The Reggie Varilla-mentored squad missed out on the Final Four for the first time, but still boast of the 1-2 punch of NBTC All-Stars Kristian Porter and Lebron Nieto. Now, they test their mettle against the top teams from the UAAP and NCAA, eight international squads from the NBTC Global Games, and 12 teams from the local qualifying tournaments.
In replacing the Red Cubs, who were assured of a tourney slot by virtue of finishing third in NCAA 98 Juniors, Ateneo is hoping to accelerate the growth of its roster mostly made up of first-year players.
“This will be good learning experience for us,” said Varilla.
Interestingly, the NBTC is honoring longtime San Beda athletic director Edmundo “Ato” Badolato as the namesake for its Most Outstanding Player award moving forward. The late Badolato was integral in the formation of the grassroots program, serving as tournament commissioner and committee head for the NBTC 24 and Elite Camps, while also discovering multitude of talents, among them current PBA player Baser Amer.
Two-time NBTC defending champion NU-Nazareth School also joined the cast with fourth-placers UST and Mapua earlier announced to be part of the biggest grassroots event presented by Smart, SM, Strong Realty and Development Corp., Under Armour, and Molten.
