Belangel jumps to top 3 in second week of NBTC 24

SJ Belangel. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Ateneo playmaker SJ Belangel made the biggest move in the Chooks-to-Go NBTC 24 as his stellar play propelled him to join pacesetters Kai Sotto of Ateneo and Joel Cagulangan of La Salle Greenhills after the second week of the weekly power rankings.

Belangel helped the Blue Eagles remain unbeaten in the UAAP Season 80 juniors tourney to go up 10-0, and thus jumping over NCAA Season 93 MVP Will Gozum of Mapua this week.

FEU guard L-Jay Gonzales and Ateneo swingman Dave Ildefonso also rose up the ranks, while UST stud CJ Cansino dropped to eighth.

Also, NU guard Terrence Fortea made a huge jump from 16th to 11, while three newcomers entered this week’s power rankings in Ateneo’s Joaqui Manuel, Tay Tung’s Harold Alarcon, and UV’s Joshua Yerro all making a splash.

Here is the list for the second week of Chooks-to-Go NBTC 24, with last week’s rank in the parenthesis:

1. Kai Sotto, center, Ateneo (1)
2. Joel Cagulangan, guard, La Salle Greenhills (2)
3. SJ Belangel, guard, Ateneo (5)
4. Will Gozum, center, Mapua (3)
5. L-Jay Gonzales, guard, FEU-Diliman (6)
6. Dave Ildefonso, forward, Ateneo (8)
7. Rhayyan Amsali, forward, NU (7)
8. CJ Cansino, forward, UST (4)
9. Clint Escamis, guard, Mapua (10)
10. Aaron Fermin, center, Arellano (9)
11. Terrence Fortea, guard, NU (16)
12. RJ Abarrientos, guard, FEU-Diliman (15)
13. Inand Fornilos, forward, CSB-LSGH (11)
14. Evan Nelle, guard, San Beda (12)
15. Warren Bonifacio, center, Mapua (13)
16. John Galinato, guard, Chiang Kai Shek (14)
17. Mac Guadaña, guard, Lyceum (18)
18. Raven Cortez, center, La Salle Zobel (19)
19. Harvey Pagsanjan, guard, Hope Christian (20)
20. Maui Cruz, guard, EAC (23)
21. Joaqui Manuel, forward, Ateneo (N/A)
22. Harold Alarcon, guard, Tay Tung-Bacolod (N/A)
23. Jancork Cabahug, forward, UV (17)
24. Joshua Yerro, guard, UV (N/A)

Every week, a panel of coaches, sportswriters, and a statistician converge to come up with the weekly rankings to determine the top 24 high school players in the UAAP, CESAFI-NBTC, MMBL, and FCAAF tournaments, together with the recently concluded NCAA competition.

The players were ranked based on the following criteria: league stats, impact in team, team record, leadership, defense, offense, and level of competition.

The top 24 players still on the board for the power rankings in early March will be picked to play in the SM-National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) High School All-Star Game later that month at Mall of Asia Arena.