The 2019 NBTC National Finals was a basketball competition in the Philippines hosted by the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) to determine the champion for the 2018âÂÂ2019 NBTC League season. It involved 32 high school teams, with 16 regional teams, eight representatives from the NCR, and six global squads. It began on March 18, 2019, and ended on March 24. Also taking place during this time was the NBTC All-Star Game and several other side events.
The NUNS Bullpups became the first back-to-back champions in tournament history as they won Division 1. In Division 2, St. Augustine Institute won their first NBTC title.
This year's format involved high school teams representing 105 cities going through city championships. Winners of those city championships would compete in regional championships, with the regional champions moving to the National Finals. For teams based in the NCR, the UAAP Jrs., NCAA Jrs., and Metro Manila Basketball League (MMBL) tournaments are used as qualifiers, with the winners and first runner-ups of those tournaments getting to play in the National Finals. Six international teams joined this year's tournament.
The tournament kicked off with the Seeding Round, with the first elimination round taking place the following day. Winners from the UAAP, NCAA, NBTC Cebu, and MMBL were given the first eight seeds. Top-ranked regional champions were given the last eight seeds. This left the international teams, wildcards, and other regional champions to position themselves. In the 9-16 seeding games, winning teams would get to take on teams 21-24, while losers would take on the 17th to 20th seeds. In the 25-32 seeding games, winning teams would take on seeds 5-8, while losers would have to face the top four seeds of the tournament. From there on, every match was a do-or-die situation for the teams, with knockout rounds in the Super 32, Supreme 16, Fantastic 8, Fearless Four, and the Finals.
The National Basketball Training Center selected and ranked 24 of the best high school prospects in the NCAA and UAAP juniors, and CESAFI high school tournament. The rankings would be shown weekly on the NBTC's online show National Basketball Training Center 24, which was shown on the NBTC's Facebook page and hosted by Kiefer Ravena and Mikee Reyes.
This year saw Kai Sotto from the UAAP Jrs and Joel Cagulangan from the NCAA Jrs take the top two spots on the rankings. Cagulangan and Sotto led Team Heart and Team Hustle, respectively. They would get to pick their teammates through a draft. They along with Jalen Green and six other players from international teams were added to the lineups of Team Heart and Team Hustle.
Joel Cagulangan was unable to play due to a right ankle injury injury.<br> Clint Escamis was unable to play due to a right ACL tear.<br> Adam Doria was selected as Joel Cagulangan's replacement.<br> Tony Ynot was selected as Clint Escamis's replacement.<br>