DEFENDING champion Saint Jude Catholic School looks to register a sweep of the seven-game elimination round of the 18-Under Boys Juniors division of the 6th Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association (PCYAA) basketball competitions when it clashes with equally unbeaten Philippine Cultural College on Saturday, February 2, in what could be a preview of the finals.
Saint Jude Catholic School lifted its record to a perfect 6-0 following a 97-48 drubbing of winless Uno High School. The Green Knights’ much-vaunted trapping defense did the Blue Pandas in as Coach Japs Cuan’s troops translated them into steals and transition baskets in bunches.
SJCS led from start to finish and was ahead by as much 55 points, 92-37, in the lopsided victory. Heady Martin Ang racked up a game-high 30 points in three quarters and Mallechi Colby Lim added 15. Both sat out the entire fourth period.
Steven Tecson nailed four triples and totaled 17 points for Uno, which is still winless after six appearances.
Meanwhile, Philippine Cultural College upped its record to 5-0 with a 55-32 shellacking of St. Stephen’s High School last Sunday at the Uno High School gym.
The Golden Seagulls trailed by one point, 20-19, at the half then destroyed the Stephenians, 36-12, in the final 20 minutes behind the 18-point, 16-rebound performance from high-leaping John Patrick Sy.
Philippine Cultural College tangles with third-running Jubilee Christian Academy (4-1) on Thursday, January 31, before the much-anticipated duel with Saint Jude two days later. The result of the PCC-JCA game carries much weight as the winner could secure the No. 2 seed that rewards a quarterfinal playoff bye and automatic passage to the semifinals armed with a twice-to-beat advantage against its opponent.
Despite the loss to PCC, St. Stephen’s remained in fourth spot with a 3-3 mark. Barring an upset loss to winless host MGC New Life Christian Academy (0-5) on Saturday, February 2, the Stephenians will finish no lower than No. 4 and clinch one of the two quarterfinal tickets with a twice-to-beat advantage.The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will enjoy a twice-to-beat incentive against the No. 6 and No. 5 seeds, respectively, in the quarterfinals.
Pace Academy blasted MGC NLCA, 74-38, to climb to fifth spot with a 2-3 record. The Pacers have two games left in the elimination phase – vs. sixth-placer Grace Christian College (2-4) on Tuesday, January 29, and vs. Jubilee on Sunday, February 3.
All two-way deadlocks will result in a playoff between the teams involved. In a three-way tie, the team with the best plus-minus quotient will automatically get the highest seed at stake while the two other teams will play off for the other two positions.