UAAP Juniors MVP Cansino soars in 6th week of NBTC 24

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CJ Cansino has put his nightmare of a second round behind him, carrying University of Santo Tomas when it mattered the most.

Thus, the newly minted UAAP Season 80 Juniors Most Valuable Player is the week’s biggest mover in a largely intact Chooks-to-Go/National Basketball Training Center 24 power rankings.

Willing the Tiger Cubs in two do-or-die games in the crossover semifinals, Cansino once again reminded everyone that he is one of this year’s best high school standouts, barging his way into a spot in the top five.

Ateneo teammates SJ Belangel and Kai Sotto remain in the pole positions, followed by NCAA Finals MVP Joel Cagulangan of La Salle Greenhills and NCAA MVP Will Gozum of Mapua.

Southern bets also made moves thanks to their stellar showing in NBTC Cebu, with Biern Laurente (17th) and Joshua Yerro (23rd) of UV jumping up the ranks.

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

1. SJ Belangel, guard, Ateneo (1)
2. Kai Sotto, center, Ateneo (2)
3. Joel Cagulangan, guard, La Salle Greenhills (3)
4. Will Gozum, center, Mapua (4)
5. CJ Cansino, forward, UST (6)
6. L-Jay Gonzales, guard, FEU-Diliman (5)
7. Rhayyan Amsali, forward, NU (7)
8. Dave Ildefonso, forward, Ateneo (8)
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. RJ Abarrientos, guard, FEU-Diliman (14)
15. Evan Nelle, guard, San Beda (15)
16. Joem Sabandal, guard, Adamson (16)
17. Beirn Laurente, guard, UV (20)
18. Alex Visser, center, SHS-Ateneo de Cebu (17)
19. Terrence Fortea, guard, NU (18)
20. Raven Cortez, center, La Salle Zobel (19)
21. Mac Guadaña, guard, Lyceum (21)
22. Joshua Yerro, forward, UV (N/A)
23. Harvey Pagsanjan, guard, Hope Christian (23)
24. Miguel Oczon, forward, NU (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.