CHIANG Kai Shek College exacted revenge against Hope Christian High School last Sunday with an emphatic 75-57 victory in the Group A finals of the 2015 Filipino Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation high school basketball tournament that was witnessed by a mammoth crowd at the CKSC Main Gym in Tondo, Manila.
It was the Blue Dragons’ fourth consecutive Fed crown, and the third for head coach Goldwin Monteverde, who took over the CKSC mentoring reins in 2013.
The finals’ victory avenged CKSC’s 65-56 loss to HCHS in the season opener for both schools.
In the finals, CKSC led from start to finish, having raced to a 7-0 lead in the rugged game that saw five players, including three from CKSC, thrown out.
CKSC was ahead, 35-26, at halftime and enjoyed a 15-point edge, 50-35, after three quarters. The four-time Fed titlists enjoyed their largest lead at 66-42, time down to 5:10.
In the fourth canto, CKSC’s Boga Jamjam, Robert Minerva and Miguel Andre Oczon (entering the court from the bench) and high-scoring Kris Harvey Pagsanjan and Mac Chester Jacob of HCHS were ejected for unsportsmanlike fouls.
In Group A third-place game, Manila Patriotic School crushed Saint Jude Catholic School, 88-68.
During the knockout semis, Hope Christian HS walloped Manila Patriotic School, 70-42, and CKSC downed Saint Jude Catholic School, 55-24.
Saint Stephen’s High School placed fifth; Philippine Cultural College, sixth; Philippine Chung Hua School (Sampaloc), seventh; and Saint Peter the Apostle School, eighth.
PCHS and SPAS have been relegated to Group B next year as the two lowest-ranking teams from the elite eight-school Group A.
In a battle between unbeaten teams, Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy hung tough at crunch time to register a close 58-51 win over Paco Citizen Academy Foundation in the finals of the Group B high school competitions.
Regardless, the two teams have been elevated to Group A in next year’s competitions.
No team led by more than eight points in the Group B championship duel that was punctuated by several lead changes throughout.
MGC-NLCA was ahead by just two points, 48-46, when the hardworking Carl Gavin Ong, who tallied nine points in the final 2.5 minutes, clustered five consecutive points and Aaron Sy split his free throws for a 6-0 run that pushed Wilson Ngo’s troops to a 54-46 lead.
MGC-NLCA was never threatened and went up by eight points twice, 56-48 and 58-50.
In the third-place game, Pace Academy crushed Philippine Sun Yat Sen High School.
During the semifinals, PCAAF whipped PSYSHS and MGC-NLCA bucked a double-digit deficit in the payoff period and held Pace Academy scoreless during the stretch for a come-from-behind five-point win.
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