Nagoya and University of Santo Tomas will face off for the 2026 NSAC World Invitational presented by the Philippine Sports Commission championship after both survived their respective semifinal battles at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City on Saturday.
The Flying Eagles secured their place in the title game with a 77-66 victory over the San Beda Red Lions in the evening semifinals, while the Growling Tigers earlier needed two overtime periods to edge the JRU Heavy Bombers, 97-92.
Filipino reinforcement Francis Lopez came up big for Nagoya, bouncing back from a quiet four-point outing against FEU on Friday with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. He also contributed three assists and a steal in a productive performance for head coach Ruben Boykin.
The Fighting Eagles steadily pulled away from San Beda, building their biggest lead at 55-39 after a Tres Tinkle basket with 3:54 left in the third quarter.
The Red Lions managed to cut the deficit to single digits in the fourth, but Nagoya’s B.League experience proved too much to overcome.
Tinkle led all Nagoya scorers with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Ryuto Yasuoka and Nelson Phillips added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Daniel Marcelo paced San Beda with 16 points.
(C) Asiabasket
Earlier, UST dug deep to erase an 11-point deficit with four minutes remaining in regulation before eventually outlasting JRU in a thrilling double-overtime affair.
Collins Akowe delivered a monster performance of 33 points and 22 rebounds, while Amiel Acido chipped in 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists to send the Growling Tigers into the championship round.
UST seized control in the second overtime with an 8-1 run, capped by two free throws from Akowe that gave the Tigers a 91-84 lead with 2:17 remaining.
Kirk Cañete then converted a layup off a laser pass from Landyn Jumawan to stretch UST’s lead to 93-88 with under two minutes to play.
Lawrence Mangubat led JRU with 26 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.
San Beda and JRU will meet in the Battle for Bronze at 3 p.m. Sunday, with Nagoya and UST set to clash for the championship at 5 p.m. at the PhilSports Arena.
