SEASON 4 of the Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association (PCYAA) league goes full blast today, January 12, with the resumption of the basketball competitions at the Uno High School gym.
Action in the Boys’ Juniors (High School) Division commences on that day with Saint Peter the Apostle School taking on last year’s runner-up Philippine Cultural College at 5:30 p.m. and title-contending Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy tackling Uno High School at 7 p.m.
Two days before (January 10), the Girls’ High School tournament got underway with host Grace Christian College defeating Philippine Cultural College and reigning champion Uno High School opening its “three-peat” title bid with a 72-21 shellacking of Saint Jude Catholic School for its 23rd consecutive victory over three seasons.
Competitions in the Boys’ 12-and-under Developmental Division and Boys’ 14-and-under Aspirants Division were determined last month with Saint Jude Catholic School and Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy, respectively, emerging victorious. Both teams romped away with their third straight championship.
As if “three-peat” is the central theme of this year’s PCYAA basketball festivities, Saint Jude Catholic School also looks to snare the Juniors diadem for the third year in a row.
The Judenites retained their crown in Season 3 with a 2-1 thumping of Philippine Cultural College in the best-of-three finals. The Seagulls grabbed the series opener to lift their overall record to 10-0 but the Mendiola-based school roared back to take the second and third games – including a 60-48 in the series clincher behind 14 points each by Maynard Yap and Jared Filipino – and the championship.
SJCS may be favored again this year but the Juniors title race remains wide open. Jubilee Christian Academy, 2016 third-placer Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy and Pace Academy appear to be a championship threat, at least on paper.
As to Grace Christian College, Saint Peter the Apostle School, Philippine Cultural College and Uno High School, don’t sell them short in the eight-team competitions that reward all teams with a quarterfinal playoff stint and the top four seeds enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage over the four lower seeds (under the matchups of 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5).
GCC, SPAS, PCC and UHS may just turn out to be grand spoilers this campaign.
Saint Jude Catholic School lost Jared Filipino (9.1 ppg in 2015-16), Daniel Pua and biggies Kendrick Ong (8.8 ppg and a team-high 9.5 rpg) and Joseph Metrado to graduation but coach Luis Nolasco still has holdovers Maynard Yap (11.9 ppg, 2.55 steals per game), Lance Chan (10.0 ppg), Matthew Ang, Charles Sy, Jared’s younger brother Joao Filipino, Mallechi Colby Lim and biggie Adrian Pe and newcomers but 14-year-old veteran Aspirants campaigners Kiefe Chu and Andrew Choa at his disposal.
Jubilee Christian Academy, the 2015 second-placer that slipped to seventh a year ago, is buoyed by the back-to-school presence of high-scoring slasher Carlo Lim following a short-lived stint with La Salle Greenhills HS and the return of solid veterans such as burly Lanz Tan, the reigning Ching Yuen rebounding titlist with averages of 16.9 rpg and PCYAA fifth-best 13.8 ppg, and Kyle Barraza, the league’s No. 3 scorer in 2015-16 with a 16.3-point clip, and the addition of rookies with distinguished Aspirants experience in Miko Lim and Julian Evangelista.
Makati Gospel Church-NLCA, the third-placer a year ago, has packed itself with enough offensive punch with holdovers Carl Ong, an energetic double-double who ranked first in the Juniors Division in scoring (16.9 ppg) and third in rebounding (11.7 rpg) last season; Daniel Lim (9.1 ppg), Cedric Ho, playmaker Tristan Lao, brothers Aaron and Kyle Sy and explosive Ike Jordan Lim, who turns only 15 on February 11 and is in the second year of Juniors action while having moonlighted as the PCYAA’s scoring prince in the Aspi Division for the past two seasons and earning a third straight title with the New Lifers in the 14-and-under division.
Ike Lim also welcomes his co-Big Three Aspi friends Mcneil Si and Linerwin-franc Magpayo on the MGC-NLCA’s Juniors roster this season.
Pace Academy made it to the Final Four (fourth place) in 2015-16 but seeks a better finish this time following a championship in another Chinese-Filipino high school tournament late last year. The Pacers, who are mentored by the hard-driving Arthur Tong, are bannered by holdovers Pol Antiporda (11.9 ppg), Tyrone Tan (11.4 ppg, 2.11 spg), Jaded Ng (9.0 ppg) and long-tom artists Jeff Lugay and Dean Ong and rim-protecting mastodons in 6-foot-3 Getson Lim (10.0 rpg, 2.11 shot blocks per game) and 6-foot-5 Geoffrey Chiu, who is slowly metamorphosing into an outstanding shotblocker.
Grace Christian College, which was ranked fifth last season, is again banking on veteran riflemen John Patrick Lim (league second-best 16.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg in 2015-16) and Sebastian Choi (league fourth-highest 14.1 ppg), jumping jack John Ing (11.1 ppg) and hulking center Ralph Lim and is bolstering its lineup with the addition on concurrent Aspi campaigners Marcus Lu, Matthew Llanes and Michael Claver, who along with 13-year-old dynamo playmaker Ren Cobie Tolentino helped steer GCC to a runner-up finish in the Aspi competitions last month.
Burly Jesse Chong is now the veteran torchbearer for Uno High School after posting a double-double for last year’s sixth-place Uneans with his averages of 11.4 ppg and tournament second-leading 13.1 rpg.
Guard Jozshua Healy is in the pink of health following a late-season injury in 2015-16 when he hit at a 12.5-point clip in six appearances. Other Uneans expected to step up are holdovers Warren Tan, Matthew Vistan and Adrian Ramos and erstwhile Aspi campaigners Matthew Lim, Jaden Alberto and Timothee Tan.
Saint Peter the Apostle School lost Earl Gabriel (the league leader in steals and blocked shots) and Elijah Sy from last year’s 0-8 team, but the Peterians to turn things around behind returning top scorer John Lim (12.4 ppg), Jherome Siy, William Lim and Jomer Lu.
Daniel Manalang (10.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.00 bpg) is the meal ticket for Philippine Cultural College following the loss of seven key players from last year’s runner-up unit. His supporting cast includes veteran point guard Michael Manansala and much-improved three-point sniper D’Lanor Angelo Tan, Andrew Yu and Rafael Pangilinan and newcomers Jad Racal and brothers Karl and Kyle Ty.
Coaching the Seagulls this season is Lester Del Rosario, son of multi-titled bench tactician Aric Del Rosario.
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