In a tournament showcasing rising talent at the grassroots level, National Capital Region-North (Boys) and Cebu Region 7 (Girls) ruled the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Under 16 Pambansang Tatluhan 2024 at the SM North EDSA The Block Atrium Quezon City last Sunday, August 11.

The tournament made a major comeback after five years, bringing 32 qualified teams from 16 SBP regions.

Undefeated in all six games leading up to the championship, NCR-North downed Cagayan de Oro (Region 10) in the boys division — 21 to 16.

Cebu, also unscathed in six games from the preliminaries, edged NCR-North — 12-11 to capture the crown in the girls division.

An enthusiastic weekend crowd lined up the venue’s upper floor rails and were kept in suspense until the final buzzer of both title showdowns.

Adding flavor to the event was the participation of Special Olympics Pilipinas. The blue and white teams played a full game of 3×3 punctuated by highlight moves and shooting prowess from the lone female player, Adi aka Female Curry, together with crowd darling Karl aka The King!.

The NCR-North boys were led by hotshot Anton Lopez, who was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Backing Lopez up were Adi Alvarez, Patrick Pasinos and Angelo Cabantac.

On the girls’ side, Maria Nadine Labay ran away with MVP honors, bannering Cebu teammates Glysie Canada, Mary Grace Sumalinog and Zaydhen Rosano.

Third place in the boys division went to Bataan (Region 3), who took the victory from Cebu (Region 7) 20-18.

The ladies from Iloilo (Region 6) escaped Cagayan de Oro (Region 10) 13-12 to secure third place.

SBP executive director Erika Dy presided over the awarding ceremony, which was graced by SBP 3×3 alumnus Mark Nonoy, who was picked at 10th overall by Terrafirma in the latest PBA Rookie Draft.

Nonoy, from Carlota City, Negros Occidental and a member of De La Salle’s UAAP champion team, urged this year’s 3×3 batch to keep pursuing their dreams, especially those coming from the provinces.

“Ituloy nyo lang tulad ko ang mga pangarap nyo kahit san probinsya kayo nagmula,” he said.

Also in attendance during the two-day event was Hans Sy, Chairman of Executive Committee of SM Prime Holdings, former SBP Executive Director Sonny Barrios and NLEX Road Warriors team manager Virgil Villavicencio, also SBP’s media operations head.

This year’s Pambansang Tatluhan edition was presented by Molten while the official Venue Partner is SM North EDSA.