It just wasn’t meant to be for National University-Nazareth School.
With a semifinal berth at stake, NU-Nazareth dropped a close 83–79 loss to South Korea’s Yongsan High School on Friday, June 27, to wrap up its campaign at the 2025 NBA Rising Stars Invitational.
The Bullpups looked sharp in their opening game, shaking off a sluggish start before pulling away in the second half for an 81–60 rout of Thailand’s Assumption College Thonburi.
But against Yongsan, NU was locked in a much tighter contest and ultimately fell short down the stretch, crashing out of the competition.
Yongsan joins China’s Tsinghua University High School and Japan’s Fukuoka University Ohori Senior High School—who topped Groups B and C, respectively—in the boys’ semifinals. One final slot remains up for grabs.
On the girls’ side, the semifinal picture is nearly complete.
Australia’s Flinders College, China’s Tsinghua University High School, and Japan’s Kyoto Seika Gakuen Senior High School all clinched semifinal berths following dominant group-stage performances.
Flinders cruised past Indonesia’s Delhi Public School, 68–28, to top Group C, while Kyoto Seika rolled over Singapore’s Hwa Chong Institution, 78–36.
Tsinghua secured its place in the final four after a 67–58 win over Thailand’s Watnoinoppakhun School to top Group B.
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