by Reynald Magallon
Rising stars Kai Sotto and Jalen Green will cross paths once again as Ateneo De Manila and FilAm Sports USA are set to lock horns in the Supreme 16 of in the NBTC League National Finals, at 5 pm today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Sotto is coming off a 35 points, 15 rebounds performance to help the Ateneo escape Lyceum-Cavite with a 86-84 victory during the Super 32 round.
Ateneo court general Forthsky Padrigao provided support after scoring 17 points and dishing six assists. He also drilled a crucial jumper with 46 seconds remaining to keep the Eaglets afloat.
Meanwhile, Green had a quiet 11 points and four assists as the USA drubbed Perpetual Help JONELTA-Laguna,86-55 to advance to the next round.
Kainoa Balunggay led the charge exploding for 24 points on top of 10 rebounds for FilAm Sports while Jeron Artest, son of former NBA player Metta World Peace, chipped in 12 points, 10 boards, and six dimes.
Green who dunked on Sotto during the last year’s NBTC, is eager to try to avenge last year’s loss to eventual champion NU Bullpups.
"I think we got like three players who know what we did last year and we lost, but carrying that loss, we just need more of a buildup for us to get it this year and take it further than last year," said Green who holds the record for most points scored in a game in NBTC.
This time Green will try to lead the way for the Fil-Americans but they have to do it against Sotto and the Ateneo to get a seat in the NBTC Super 8.
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