IT happened in 1993 in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) seniors men’s basketball competitions when the University of Growling Tigers waltzed their way to an immaculate record of 14-0 du-ring the elimination round to capture the championship outright under the now-discarded league rule for an unbeaten elimination-round leader.
History could repeat itself in the 18th Metropolitan Amateur Sports Association (MASA) boys high school basketball festivities. A no-playoffs scenario looms as powerhouse Hope Christian High School is four victories away from completing a 10-game sweep of the six-team, double-round elimination phase that also features five other entries from Saint Jude Catholic School, Saint Stephen’s High School, Philippine Academy of Sakya, Philadelphia High School and host Philippine Cultural College.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, and a sudden change in venue, the title coronation will come on Sunday, Nov. 22, on their own floor when the HCHS Warriors tackle the winless PHS Panthers (0-6) for a second time in their 10th and final elims appearance.
Along the way, head coach Jerson Cabiltes’ troops will face the same PHS squad in their postponed first-round encounter Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the Philippine Cultural College gym and then tackle Philippine Academy of Sakya Thursday, Nov. 19, also at the PCC campus.
Hope Christian will battle Saint Stephen’s High School on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the SSHS gym before winding its schedule against Philadelphia the following day. The Warriors are built around heady and shifty Kris Harvey Pagsanjan, a member of under-16 Philippine national team that placed fifth in the recent FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia who made his MASA season debut last November 14 with a 19-point performance off the bench in HCHS’ 82-50 shellacking of Philippine Cultural College.
Last Sunday, Pagsanjan netted 10 points in a li-mited role as the Warriors continued their mastery of Saint Jude Catholic School with a 76-49 success at the Philadelphia High School gym. Pagsanjan is ably supported by backcourters Joshua Devara, Carlo Carino and Carmelo Noblefrancia and frontliners Ryan Quiambao, John Sacundo, Mac Jacob, Rico Postanes and RJ Catalan.
The final four MASA elimination-round playdates are as follows: Nov. 17 – PCC vs. PAS, PHS vs. HCHS and SSHS vs. SJCS; Nov. 19 – HCHS vs. PAS, PCC vs. SSHS and PHS vs. SJCS; Nov. 21 – PCC vs. SJCS, SSHS vs. HCHS and PHS vs. PAS; and Nov. 22 – PAS vs. PCC, SJCS vs. SSHS and HCHS vs. PHS.
Hope Christian HS appears headed for a perfect season and second place is the only thing that Saint Stephen’s HS (5-1) and Saint Jude Catholic School (4-2) are fighting for.
The two teams will duke it out twice this week.
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