In final NGBL battle, top UAAP and NCAA programs collide
Fittingly, it has come to this. In a tournament that reeled in the finest high school programs from rival varsity leagues, the championship match will be fought by a UAAP heavyweight and an NCAA powerhouse.
Perpetual Help and National University (NU)-Nazareth School will clash at MGC New Life Christian Academy Gym in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, on Saturday evening, looking to be the inaugural Next Generation Basketball League (NGBL) champion.
Oh, and aside from bragging rights, there’s also P300,000 at stake for the winning program.
“NU is a champion team. They’re strong and we just have to give everything, our 100 percent, in the game,” said Junior Altas coach Joph Cleopas.
His team will have an edge: Perpetual won over NU on the opening day last Aug. 11, 75-74, via a buzzer-beater by Jan Roluna, 75-74. And Cleopas will also have Lebron Jhames Daep, the all-around 6-foot-7 star who is one of the most heavily-recruited high school prospects in the country.
“We will treat NU as they are, a really strong team,” Daep said. “We need to be stronger.”
Daep is averaging 12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in the NGBL, and his stock could rise with a favorable outcome in the championship series.
“I’m ready to face them,” said Daep.
But while a lot of eyes will be on the do-it-all Perpetual big, Cleopas said taking down NU will take a team effort.
“We don’t focus on individual players in our team,” the champion coach said. “Yes, they prepare on their own to be ready, but we are selfless. The more that we become selfless, the more that we will be able to play as a unit.”
NU, whose high school program has produced the likes of Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo, UAAP stars who are also part of the national program, is also ready for the challenge.
“We just have to work,” said Bullpups coach Kevin de Castro. “Perpetual is a great team … We just need to know what we should do offensively and defensively.”
Nine straight
NU will be powered by Collin Akowe, a 6-foot-10 center who averages 14.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. His duel with Daep will be among the match’s interesting subplots.
The Junior Altas won nine straight games on the road to the championship game. After topping Group A with a 7-0 record, they moved past Letran in the quarterfinals and University of the East in the semifinals.
NU, meanwhile, hasn’t lost since dropping that opening game against Perpetual.
“We have a great team so we shouldn’t waste [this opportunity],” De Castro said. “Anyone can step up for us and we just need to keep our focus.”
