MANILA, Philippines – They may be outnumbered, but the four teams hailing from Mindanao will not back down from any school in the upcoming 2019 Chooks-to-Go SM NBTC League national finals.

Cagayan de Oro's Southern Philippine Colleges (SPC), Davao del Norte's St. Mary's College of Tagum, General Santos's Holy Trinity College, and Pagadian's Zamboanga del Sur National High School will represent Mindanao in the annual tournament that serves as the national championship for high school teams.

• READ: Mindanao hoping for another breakthrough in 2019 NBTC

Among them, SPC is the most confident, as it is fresh off a takedown of regional powerhouse Assumption Montessori school.

The Baby Sharks leaned on 6-foot-2 swingman Jericho Montecalvo to lead them to victory against Assumption, the school that won the NBTC Division 2 championship just two years ago.

Now, Montecalvo and the rest of the Mindanaoans are hoping to make a name for themselves once more in the week-long showcase of the most promising young talent in the country.

The Mindanao qualifiers will wage war with 28 other teams in the annual NBTC League nationals from March 18 to 24 at the MOA Arena.

Last year, National University was crowned king of Division 1 while La Salle Lipa ruled Division 2.

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