Sotto regains pole position in 7th week of NBTC 24

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Kai Sotto is once again on top in the penultimate week of the Chooks-to-Go/National Basketball Training Center 24 power rankings.

Towering over his competition in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 80 juniors’ Finals, the “23-for-23” cadet unleashed an awe-inspiring triple-double of 22 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 blocks to reclaim his spot over teammate SJ Belangel.

The top five remained largely intact this week, with Joel Cagulangan of La Salle Greenhills, Will Gozum of Mapua, and CJ Cansino holding fort in their spots.

Also making leaps were Ateneo’s Dave Ildefonso at seventh and NU’s Terrence Fortea at 14th.

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

1. Kai Sotto, center, Ateneo (2)
2. SJ Belangel, guard, Ateneo (1)
3. Joel Cagulangan, guard, La Salle Greenhills (3)
4. Will Gozum, center, Mapua (4)
5. CJ Cansino, forward, UST (5)
6. L-Jay Gonzales, guard, FEU-Diliman (6)
7. Dave Ildefonso, forward, Ateneo (8)
8. Rhayyan Amsali, forward, NU (7)
9. Aaron Fermin, center, Arellano (9)
10. Clint Escamis, guard, Mapua (10)
11. John Galinato, guard, Chiang Kai Shek (11)
12. Inand Fornilos, forward, CSB-LSGH (12)
13. Warren Bonifacio, center, Mapua (13)
14. Terrence Fortea, guard, NU (19)
15. RJ Abarrientos, guard, FEU-Diliman (14)
16. Evan Nelle, guard, San Beda (15)
17. Joem Sabandal, guard, Adamson (16)
18. Beirn Laurente, guard, UV (17)
19. Raven Cortez, center, La Salle Zobel (20)
20. Miguel Oczon, forward, NU (24)
21. Alex Visser, center, SHS-Ateneo de Cebu (18)
22. Mac Guadaña, guard, Lyceum (21)
23. Harvey Pagsanjan, guard, Hope Christian (23)
24. Joshua Yerro, forward, UV (22)

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.