TEAM STANDINGS:
BOYS JUNIORS DIVISION
Jubilee Christian Academy (4-0), Saint Jude Catholic School (4-0), Philippine Cultural College (3-2), Saint Stephen’s High School (3-2), Pace Academy (3-2), MGC New Life Christian Academy (2-3), Uno High School (1-5) and Grace Christian College (0-6)
GIRLS JUNIORS DIVISION
Jubilee Christian Academy (6-0), Uno High School (4-1), Saint Jude Catholic School (4-2), Saint Stephen’s High School (2-3), Grace Christian College (1-5) and Philippine Cultural College (0-6)
IN a preview of potential finalists, unbeaten teams Jubilee Christian Academy and Saint Jude Catholic School duke it out on Thursday, February 1, for the No. 1 seed in the 18-under Boys Juniors division of the 5th Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association (PCYAA) basketball competitions at the Uno High School gym in Tondo, Manila.
Last Sunday, the Jubileeans played just hard enough to whip Uno High School, 79-57, for their fourth victory in as many appearances. Kyle Barraza took over the scoring chores with 23 points as his multi-dimensional teammate Carlo Lim opted to hold back offensively while collecting six rebounds, five steals and three assists along with his six-point output.
Saint Jude Catholic School outscored Philippine Cultural College, 23-5, in a furious fourth-quarter outburst en route to an 89-76 victory for a share of the leadership with Jubilee at 4-0.
The Judenites erased a 71-66 deficit with a 13-0 blast – including two triples and eight points by Mallechi Colby Lim – to open the fourth-period hostilities for a 79-71 advantage with less than six minutes remaining in the rugged contest that saw two players (one from each side) and Seagulls head coach Lester del Rosario thrown out and another pair of players from Saint Jude whistled for unsportsmanlike fouls.
The bull-shouldered Lim finished with 28 points (nine of them from beyond the arc) and eight rebounds and towed two other Judenites with twin-digit scores – Matthew Ang (13) and Lance Chan (12).
Cultural, which fell into a three-way logjam at third spot with Saint Stephen’s High School and Pace Academy at 3-2, put to waste Michael Manansala’s 26-point performance that was spiked by five triples. D’Lanor Angelo Tan contributed 14 markers, including three from downtown, but both Manansala and Tan were shut out in the game-altering fourth frame.
In other matches Sunday, defending champion MGC New Life Christian Academy (2-3) broke a three-game losing streak with a 66-50 shellacking of winless Grace Christian College (0-6) and league newcomer Saint Stephen’s High School won its third straight assignment in defeating Pace Academy, 68-59, and tying its victim at the No. 3 spot with identical 3-2 records.
In the 18-under Girls Juniors Division, Jubilee Christian Academy, this year’s host school, lifted its immaculate record to 6-0 with a 72-18 rout of Grace Christian Academy (a repeat win in four days) behind the dynamic duo of Sandra Villacruz (28 points) and Marie Tan (16); three-time defending titlist Uno High School (4-1) retained the No. 2 spot with a 56-30 whipping of winless Philippine Cultural College (0-6) behind Michaella Co’s 25 points; and Saint Jude Catholic School improved to 4-2 with a 48-46 decision over Saint Stephen’s High School (2-3) behind Faith Chu’s 20 points, nine boards and eight steals.
After the double-round elimination phase, the top two teams jump straight to the Finals with the No. 1 seed enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage over the No. 2 seed.
Jubilee and Uno, which are expected to advance to the Finals, clash on Sunday February 4 in second-round action at the Uno High School gym with the Lady Uneans bidding for a payback on home territory after their 53-51 setback to Jubilee during the January 14 opening rites at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City that shattered Uno’s 31-game winning skein over three title seasons.
The PCYAA is a nine-member multi-sports league geared towards youthful athletes in the Chinese-Filipino community. Other disciplines in the Season 5 PCYAA calendar are table tennis, chess and badminton.
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