“YES, we can” is the battle slogan of the ultra-young Philadelphia High School Juniors team as it embarks on an ambitious journey in the 2015 Filipino-Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation (PCAAF) basketball tournament.
The five-week high school competitions for players age 18 and below will get underway on Saturday, August 22, with the traditional opening rites to be held at the Chiang Kai Shek College gym in Tondo, Manila.
The 22 high school (Juniors) participants are divided into two groups – Group A and B.
Group A is made up of the eight top-tier teams, including reigning titlist Chiang Kai Shek College, which beat archrival Hope Christian High School in the finals a year ago; Saint Jude Catholic School, Saint Stephen’s High School and Philippine Cultural College.
Group B consists of 14 second-tier teams, equally divided into two groups – B1 and B2 – of seven schools each.
The tournament format calls for a single-round elimination phase with the top four teams in Group A qualifying for the semifinal playoffs while the top four finishers in Group B1 and Group B will earn berths in the one-loss-and-you’re-out quarterfinal playoffs that feature cross-pairing matchups (A1-B4, A2-B3, A3-B2 and A4-B1). The first- and second-ranked teams will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage.
The quarterfinal survivors then clash in the four-team, knockout semifinals with the twin survivors advancing to face each other in the one-game finals.
Games are to be played simultaneously at three venues – CKSC, Uno High School and Philippine Cultural College.
The PCAAF Juniors or High School Group A tournament will be staged for the 26th time. The Group B event, on the other hand, will have its 23th renewal. The PCAAF decided to expand its roster of participants in 1992 to provide more Chinese-Filipino schools to take part in its men’s basketball competitions.
Youth basketball is further being served with the establishment of the (age) 13-and-under Aspirants Division and the Boys’ Developmental Division for kids age 11 and under.
Action in the 11th Boys’ Developmental Division, which debuted in 2005, will coincide with the opening of the Juniors Division on August 22.
Philadelphia High School is bracketed in Group B1 (PHS schedule in parentheses) along with Philippine Cheng Kuang High School (August 22), Northern Rizal Yorklin School (August 29), Philippine Pasay Chung Hua Academy (August 30), Grace Christian College (September 5), Paco Citizen Academy Foundation (September 6) and Pace Academy (September 12). All Group B1 games will be played at the PCC gym.
“Our goal is to qualify for the top four in our group and advance to the quarterfinal playoffs,” said PHS head coach Simon Sim who is assisted on the bench by former Grace Christian players Angelo So and Shaun Sim.
“The Panthers are a young team. In contrast to other schools whose player lineups average 17 or 18 years old, the team’s age is around 14.3 years. Still, we will offer the opposition stiff competition and give them a run for their money. Yes we can,” as Simon Sim echoed the Panthers’ battle cry.
Member of the PHS Juniors squad are Ronnie James Yap, Phillip Jason Midel, Mark Tan, Alex Nolasco, Warren Lee, Lance Abaja, Nevin Santiago, Stephen Lim, Keanu Baybayan, Ansley Co, Lance Chung, Linus Chung, Raphael Go Toh Kang, Klein Chua, Michael Burga and Justin Miguel Liao.
The PHS Panthers have prepared well for the Federation tournament, having seen action in the Antonio Varona Cup in Letran last April and May and the ongoing Milcu Got Skills Basketball Elite Showcase in the 16-and-under division.
The PHS Juniors team will be appearing live on the PTV Sports program on Channel 4 this Friday, August 21, 7 p.m.
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