MANILA – Former Division 1 champion Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu and Pampanga Delta are leading the pack of 12 provincial teams raring to get the title in the 2023 Smart NBTC National Finals from March 15-19 at Mall of Asia Arena.

The Magis Eagles hope to claim the crown they last captured in 2015, when they took down then-reigning and NCAA juniors’ king San Beda High School.

Pampanga Delta, meanwhile, is expected to bring over the top young talent from a province well-known as a hotbed for basketball prospects.

Rounding out the winners of local qualifying tournaments (LQTs) are Team Tarlac representing Central Luzon; University of Luzon (Baguio); Philippine Christian University Dasmariñas (Cavite); Holy Trinity College General Santos (Kidapawan); Saint Benilde International School Calamba (Laguna); Level Up Max Ballers Davao (Northern Mindanao); Batang Tiaong (Quezon); Don Bosco Dumaguete (Visayas); and Doc Boleros (Caloocan/Quezon City).

The winner of the Batangas LQT will be determined in early March.

It will also be the first time in NBTC’s 13th season that it will welcome club teams in the tournament such as Pampanga Delta, Team Tarlac, Level Up Max Ballers Davao, Batang Tiaong, and Doc Boleros.

The national championship for high school was most recently won by Nazareth School of National University twice in a row in 2018 and 2019.

The 12 provincial teams will be joining 12 other schools who will first duke it out in classification contests where the winners will be classified into Division 1, while the losers will be moved to Division 2.

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Both divisions will then get three-team groups of four which will battle each other in round-robin eliminations.

The top team from each group will advance to the knockout semifinals and then finals, where the Division 1 and Division 2 kings will be crowned.

In the culminating day, the championship games will be complemented by the title match of the first-ever Smart NBTC Girls Have Next powered by Fil-Nation Select and the Under Armour All-Star Game, Slam Dunk Contest, Three-Point Shootout, and Skills Challenge.