B.League One club Nagoya was the only foreign team to advance to the semifinals of the 2026 NSAC World Invitational, presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, on Friday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The Fighting Eagles defeated the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 97-87, in the quarterfinal matchup of this tournament that is sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
The other three semifinalists are collegiate squads.
University of Santo Tomas and Jose Rizal University took contrasting victories to set up a semifinal showdown. The Growling Tigers routed Tenri University, 88-65, while the Heavy Bombers rallied for a 71-66 comeback win over Elite Stacks.
San Beda University, which will face Nagoya, also pulled away late to defeat Formosa, 78-65.
Nelson Phillips and Tres Tinkle spearheaded Nagoya’s offensive surge in the second quarter as the Japanese side took a 55-48 lead into halftime. The Fighting Eagles maintained control in the second half, keeping FEU at arm’s length until the final buzzer.
Phillips finished with 21 points, while Tinkle added 20 for Nagoya.
Filipino reinforcement Francis Lopez contributed four points, two rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.
Reigning UAAP MVP Janrey Pasaol led FEU with 17 points, while Mo Konateh posted 11 points and 10 rebounds.
(C) NSAC
San Beda leaned on RC Calimag, who led the Red Lions with 16 points, while Aldous Torculas added 15 points, five rebounds, and a block.
Justin Miles Hawkins paced Formosa with 16 points and four rebounds.
(C) NSAC
UST continued to pour it on against Tenri, building its biggest lead at 33 points, 66-33, after a Koji Buenaflor triple with 6:52 left in the third period.
Collins Akowe and Amiel Acido led the balanced attack with 17 points apiece. Akowe added nine rebounds and three assists to earn Player of the Game honors, while Acido shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the field.
Buenaflor chipped in 11 points off the bench as UST advanced despite the absence of injured Gelo Crisostomo.
Jerry Williams paced Tenri with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
(C) NSAC
JRU, meanwhile, trailed Elite Stacks, 66-60, with less than four minutes remaining before mounting an 11-0 finishing run.
Allan Laurenaria started the comeback with an alley-oop off an inbound pass from Jhillian Palis with 3:06 left. Lawrence Mangubat then scored on back-to-back possessions, including a three-pointer that put JRU ahead for good, 67-66, with 1:25 remaining.
Mangubat finished with 22 points, while Laurenaria added 13 points and six rebounds. Chris Hubilla contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Akok Machar led the Australian side with 22 points.
The Scores:
First Game
JRU (71) – Mangubat 22, Salvador 14, Hubilla 13, Laurenaria 13, Palis 4, Garupil 3, Masiglat 2, Eligado 0, Panapanaan 0, Bagro 0, Garcia 0, Herrera 0.
Elite Stacks (66) – Ak. Machar 22, Deng 13, Anyang 9, Rickwood-Pitt 9, Pacquiao 6, Aw. Machar 4, Francis 3, Barrett 0, Violi 0.
Quarterscores: 16-18, 35-37, 57-56, 71-66
Second Game
San Beda (78) – RC Calimag 16, Torculas 15, Puno 11, Sarigumba 7, Marcelo 6, Etulle 6, Reyes 5, Hawkins 5, Songcuya 4, Efron 3, Estacio 0, R. Calimag 0, Jamora 0, Bonzalida 0, Jalbuna 0, Uggadan 0.
NFU (65) – Hawkins 16, Yang 14, Jones 12, Yang 9, Yao 8, Weij. Chen 2, Lohembe 2, Ko 1, Shen 1, Chang 0, Kuo 0, Xin 0, Weih. Chen 0, Liu 0, Zhang 0.
Quarterscores: 17-24, 42-39, 60-49, 78-65
Third Game
UST (88) – Akowe 17, Acido 17, Buenaflor 11, Junawan 8, Cañete 5, Sevilla 5, Bucsit 4, Manding 4, Osang 4, Danting 4, Llemit 4, Calum 2, Esteban 2, Porter 1, Alao 0.
Tenri (65) – Williams 23, Yanagisawa 17, Morimoto 8, Sakho 4, Shimamoto 4, Endo 3, Ishii 2, Kaneko 2, Suzuki 2, Uemura 0, Hashuguchi 0, Inomoto 0, Matsumoto 0, Sato 0.
Quarterscores: 27-13, 51-29, 74-46, 88-65
Fourth Game
Nagoya (97) – Phillips 21, Tinkle 20, Yasuoka 12, Harima 9, Fiedler 6, Kagitomi 6, Ito 5, Sugimoto 5, Hiramitsu 4, Lopez 4, Sasayama 3, Tsukioka 2.
FEU (87) – Pasaol 17, Bautista 13, Konateh 11, Mongcopa 10, Cabonilas 10, Felipe 6, Hall 5, Daa 4, Macapagal 4, Nakai 3, Burgos 2, Shelton 2, Montemayor 0, Cabigting 0, Rañeses 0.
Quarterscores: 22-29, 55-48, 78-70, 97-87
