AT no time in the history of the Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association (PCYAA) basketball competitions in any of the four divisions – 12-Under Developmental, 14-Under Aspirants, 18-Under Boy Juniors and Ladies Juniors – had a player chalked 50 points or more in a game until the ongoing Season 6 cage festivities.
And unbelievably, there have been four 50-point performances so far in the current 2018-19 season.
The most recent to accomplish the rare feat was Jubilee Christian Academy’s Sandra Villacruz.
A Grade 12 student in her final year of high school eligibility, Villacruz exploded for a PCYAA Ladies record-high 54 points in the defending champion Jubileeans’ come-from-behind 78-66 victory over Saint Jude Catholic School in the season opener for both schools last Sunday (January 13) at the Uno High School gym.
In 37.5 minutes of action, Villacruz, the league’s reigning scoring queen with the powerful barreling moves, went 19-for-39 from the field, including 1-for-1 from beyond the arc, and shot 15-for-22 from the charity stripes. For good measure, she also recorded 19 rebounds, four steals and an assist.
Jubilee trailed by 13 points, 51-38, midway through the third quarter but outpointed the Lady Green Knights, 40-15, the rest of the way for the 12-point win. Villacruz’s team was still down by two, 61-59, when she singlehandedly poured in 17 consecutive points in lifting her team to an insurmountable 76-63 advantage with a minute remaining.
The all-time PCYAA single-game scoring mark belongs to 12-year-old Rafael Carlo Tan of Grace Christian College.
The stocky Tan racked up 59 points in Grace Christian College’s 86-76 loss to St. Stephen’s High School during a 12-Under Developmental contest at the MGC New Life Christian Academy gym in Taguig City last October 28. He was 18-for-44 from the field, including 4-for-12 from the three-point territory.
Tan also owns the second-best all-time mark with 55 markers in Grace Christian College’s 66-62 setback against Philippine Cultural College last November 10 at the Philippine Cultural College gym.
The third player to turn in a 50-point performance was Pace Academy’s Wayne Marsson Barandino and he did it in historic fashion.
A Grade 7 student, Barandino is the only player in PCYAA basketball annals to collect 50 points as part of a triple-double.
Barandino lit up Grace Christian College for 51 points, 19 rebounds and 19 steals in a 64-54 victory in a 12-Under Developmental game last November 11 at the MGC NLCA gym. He shot 22-for-36 (.610) from the field during his historic 36-minute feat.
There’s no comparison whatsoever yet it’s noteworthy to mention that there have been only six men in the National Basketball Association to amass 50 points or more in a triple-double during a 48-minute game (or longer).
They are Houston’s James Harden (four times), Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (thrice), the late Wilt Chamberlain (two), former LA Laker Elgin Baylor (twice), and retired players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Richie Guerin, who both accomplished the feat once.
The bearded Harden remains the only NBA player ever to rack up 60 points as part of a triple-double, hitting the milestone on January 30, 2018 in the Rockets’ 114-107 home win over the Orlando Magic with his career-high 60 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Records are meant to be broken and it won’t be a surprise if one day, the PCYAA will have its own 60-point player.
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