Belangel seizes top spot in 5th week of NBTC 24

SJ Belangel. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Taking charge when it mattered the most for Ateneo, SJ Belangel moved past teammate Kai Sotto to take the No. 1 spot of this week’s Chooks-to-Go/National Basketball Training Center 24 Power Rankings.

The senior floor general unleashed an awe-inspiring 31 points in the Blue Eaglets’ victory over NU Bullpups to complete a 14-0 sweep and propel his side to an outright Finals berth.

Aside from the swap between the top studs, the top five remained largely intact with La Salle’s Joel Cagulangan, NCAA Juniors MVP Will Gozum of Mapua, and FEU’s L-Jay Gonzales still sitting pretty in their spots.

One of this week’s biggest movers is newly-crowned UAAP juniors MVP CJ Cansino of University of Santo Tomas, who moved up to sixth place after dragging the Tiger Cubs to a fourth-place playoff against Adamson.

Baby Falcons top gun Joem Sabandal also made the leap to 16, while Cebuano big man Alex Visser jumped to 17.

Here is the complete list for the fifth week:

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

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.