Sacred Heart School-Ateneo's Jared Bahay. Handout photo
Jared Bahay and Reinhard Jumamoy put up amazing games for their respective sides to set up a colossal clash in the Division 1 Fearless Four of the 2023 Smart-NBTC National Finals presented by SM.
Bahay erupted for 31 points to propel Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Landmasters to a decisive 90-75 win over Mapua, while no. 3 player Jumamoy tallied a near-quadruple-double performance to lead NU Nazareth School to a decisive 94-52 blowout on Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.
The 5-foot-9 Bahay scorched hot, drilling eight treys on top of three assists and three steals as the Magis Eagles shot 14-of-26 from distance for a 54-percent clip.
"I'm just thankful. I just asked for guidance from Him to be able to play this game. It's sweet to help our team return to the Fearless Four," he said, keeping his team's quest for a third NBTC crown alive after winning it all in 2012 and 2015.
But it's not Bahay alone, with Michael Asoro nailing five of those treys for his 20 points and Raffy Celis unfurling a double-double of 17 points and 10 boards for SHS-Ateneo.
Jumamoy, meanwhile, nabbed a rare triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds, and nine steals to keep the Bullpups' three-peat quest alive.
"I just trusted my teammates," said the NBTC All-Star. "We did not expect this big win, but we just stuck to our game plan and we were able to stop Rhyle [Melencio]."
SHS-Ateneo and NUNS collide in the main game at 6:30 p.m., followed by the semis duel between Fil-Nation Select-USA and UST at 5 p.m.