Phenom Bluefire-Pasay proved their resilience and championship pedigree in a thrilling showdown against Chrisveil Sports-Cavite, emerging victorious with a narrow 69-66 win to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Smart-NBTC National Finals presented by SM Supermalls, Wednesday.
Matthew Jucom led the charge with 18 points and nine rebounds, while NBTC All-Star Kieffer Alas added 14 points and six boards to fend off a relentless Cavite squad.
This hard-fought victory highlighted the strength of the quarterfinals lineup, which also saw Team Khalifa and University of Southern Philippines Foundation advance, with both Cebuano teams showcasing their own brand of brilliance.
Team Khalifa, the Visayas regional champion, made a strong comeback to defeat FEU-Diliman, 63-60, in the Molten Supreme 16, marking the biggest upset of the day.
Johncel Borjal led the charge with 24 points, four rebounds, and three steals, helping the first Cebuano team secure a spot in the Playtime Cares Fantastic 8.
Shortly after, USPF followed suit by dominating Jazzville Sports-Middle East, 79-54.
Luke Dy contributed a double-double performance with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Sebastian Verzosa added 12 points to keep the Baby Panthers in contention in the grassroots program, which is also supported by MNL Kingpin, Molten, Pocari Sweat, Burlington, Swish, and Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things.
Joining the three standout teams in the next round are UAAP finalists University of Santo Tomas and NU-Nazareth School, who secured victories over Notre Dame of Midsayap and Fil-Am Clifton, respectively.
Charles Bucsit paced the Tiger Cubs with 14 points, leading them to an 87-64 win over the Rams, while Migs Palanca starred with a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds, powering the Bullpups to an 83-63 victory.
Fate was kinder to Fil-Am Nation Select, who advanced in their title defense with a 62-55 win over Momsie’s Kitchenette-San Pablo.
Angelino Mark led Team USA with 21 points and seven rebounds as they look to join the Bullpups as the only back-to-back champions in the history of the Philippine under-19 basketball championship.
Arellano, the lone NCAA team left standing, completed the quarterfinals cast with a dominant 88-59 win over Batang Europa.
i-Achievers Modern College from Nueva Ecija also qualified after a 58-50 win against Sequoia Hotel-Team New Zealand.
In Division 2, reigning titlist Top Flight Hoops-Canada advanced after a thrilling 109-101 victory over Luid Kapampangan.
University of San Jose-Recoletos secured a 71-66 come-from-behind win against Letran, while Crossover Canada triumphed 89-73 over Toyland Bistro-Cagayan de Oro.
Mindanao’s AGCCI continued their journey after eliminating Homegrown Australia, 54-51, while LCC-Bacolod El Tzino Davies outlasted Toyomoto Auto Supply, 68-65.
St. Jude College-Dasmarinas delivered a dominant 115-73 win over Proudly Pinoy FilCom-Italy.
Rounding out the Division 2 Fantastic 8 are North Luzon champion EZ Jersey-Doc Boleros, who won 74-68 against Uncle Drew-Cavite, and Bulacan’s DPR Aviation College, who narrowly defeated Fil-Euro Nation Select, 92-88.
