THE plot thickens in the Boys’ Juniors (High School) Division of the 4th Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association (PCYAA) basketball competitions held at the Uno High School gym.
Going into the lone contest (host Grace Christian College vs. Saint Jude Catholic School) today, January 24 (7 p.m.), there is a four-way logjam atop the standings with identical win-loss records of 3-1.
The four teams are two-time defending titlist Saint Jude Catholic School, Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy, Jubilee Christian Academy and Pace Academy.
Philippine Cultural College, which is currently mired in a two-game slump following a 3-0 start, is at fifth place with a 3-2 ledger. Host Grace Christian College currently ranks sixth at 1-2, Uno High School is winless in three games and Saint Peter the Apostle School occupies the cellar in the eight-school conclave with an 0-5 card.
The single-round elimination phase consists of seven games per team. While all eight member schools will advance to the playoffs, it’s very important that you finish among the top four because they get to enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals against their respective opponents in matchups featuring 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5.
Last Sunday (January 22), Saint Jude Catholic School, Jubilee Christian Academy and Pace Academy emerged victorious to share the leadership with Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy.
The Judenites bounced back from a 71-68 setback to Philippine Cultural College one game earlier with an 85-43 shellacking of winless Uno High School. Lanky Lance Chan nailed four triples and totaled 16 points, lefty Maynard Yap collected 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals, and biggie Adrian Pe produced a double-double with 13 scores and 13 boards for the Mendiola-based outfit.
Jubilee Christian Academy won in consecutive days. Last Saturday, the team registered a come-from-behind 67-63 decision over the PCC Seagulls behind Carlo Lim’s 22 points and burly Lanz Tan’s 22 points and 22 rebounds (the lone 20-20 game in the Juniors Division so far) and Sunday, it whipped Grace Christian College as Lim got 28 points, eight rebounds and six steals and Tan came up with back-to-back double-doubles with 14 markers and 16 reebies.
Pace Academy pinned PCC with its first defeat in four starts with an emphatic 75-46 victory built around 21 points and a double-double each from 6-foot-6 Shaun Geoffrey Chiu and Pol Antiporda then followed it up with a walk-in-the-park 57-35 win over hapless Saint Peter the Apostle Church last Sunday behind Rhicky Alba’s 12 points.
Separation among the four teams will come on Sunday, Jan. 29, when the MGC-NLCA New Lifers clash with Jubilee and Tuesday, Jan. 31, when Saint Jude tackles Pace.
The race to the Top Four placings in the elimination phase remains topsy-turvy so much so that Cultural (3-2) could even sneak in to gain a twice-to-beat quarterfinal berth.
The Seagulls can upset the charts with victories over Uno on Wednesday, Jan. 25, and MGC-NLCA on Saturday, February 4, to complete the elims with a 5-2 mark that will virtually guarantee them a top-four playoff ticket.
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