By ADRIAN STEWART CO

The NBTC Negros Island Local Qualifying Tournament opened over the weekend with tightly contested games and strong performances across the North Negros, Central Negros and South Negros Clusters, signaling an intense start to the race for spots in the Visayas Regional Championship.

Simultaneous opening ceremonies across the three clusters marked the beginning of two days of action highlighted by narrow finishes, high-scoring outings and decisive wins that showcased the depth of grassroots basketball talent on Negros Island.

In the North Negros Cluster, Talisay Notre Dame emerged as one of the early standouts, edging CNHS Dreamers, 73-72, in a closely fought opener before following it up with a 76-73 victory over JJP Sagay City.

One Silay also posted back-to-back wins, defeating JJP Sagay City, 103-91, and holding off CNHS Dreamers, 88-81, behind balanced scoring and sustained tempo.

Victorias City recorded consecutive victories with a 93-78 win over Cadiz City Dukes and a 73-62 triumph against Team Calatrava Basketball.

Earlier, Team Calatrava had secured a 97-75 victory over EBM Tumandok, while Cadiz City Dukes defeated the same opponent, 71-63.

In Central Negros, LCC-B Davies El Tzino opened with a narrow 65-63 win over UNO-Recoletos Bacolod before pulling away from RGG Farm, 77-56, on Sunday, January 18.

La Salle-Bacolod posted an 89-79 victory over Shockwave Basketball, but CSAV-Titans bounced back strongly with an 80-54 rout of La Salle after dropping their opening game.

Bacolod Tay Tung High School delivered consistent performances, defeating CSAV-Titans, 70-63, and dominating Shockwave Basketball, 78-53.

UNO-Recoletos Bacolod closed its campaign with an 86-64 win over Spartans Basketball.

South Negros action was marked by shifting momentum and decisive finishes. Team Mylan opened with a tournament-high 101-72 win over Sipalay City, but later fell to Bleacher Sports Bar Team A, 79-71.

Bleacher Sports Bar Team A earlier dismantled Equiper Scorpion, 88-56.

Roadstar Transit Team B registered convincing wins over MMBC, 83-57, and Hiliusa Pontevedra, 82-48. Hiliusa Pontevedra recovered from an opening loss by defeating Bago NBTC, 86-74, while Pintok Tiger’s-Binalbagan edged Bago NBTC, 68-67, in the closest game of the cluster.

With dozens of games played over two days, the opening weekend underscored the competitiveness of the NBTC Negros Island qualifiers, as teams now look ahead to the next stage with Visayas Regional Championship berths on the line./ASC, WDJ