THERE is a new king on the throne.
Philippine Cultural College dethroned Saint Jude Catholic School with a thrilling 64-62 victory in Game Two to sweep the best-of-three finals in the 18-Under Boys Juniors Division of the 6th Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association (PCYAA) basketball competitions held at the Uno High School gym in Tondo, Manila.
It was the first-ever Boys Juniors championship for the Golden Seagulls, who also took the series opener, 72-63.
Philippine Cultural College finished with a perfect 10-0 record in the eight-school tournament, erasing the unpleasant memories of the 2016 season when it dropped a 2-1 finals decision to then-defending titlist Saint Jude Catholic School after grabbing the series opener and owning a 10-0 ledger along the way.
Sweet redemption, however, it was for four members of that 2016 squad — John Patrick Sy, Rafael Ckenji Pangilinan, Rico Wu and Bryan Gadingan — all of whom finally earned a title in their last year of PCYAA eligibility.
Moreover, it was Pangilinan who played the hero’s role in the series clincher as he made a top-of-the-key jumper with three seconds left that shattered the game’s seventh deadlock at 62-all.
Pangilinan finished with nine points, eight rebounds and six assists in 37.5 minutes of action.
Sy led the Golden Seagulls with 15 points, 17 boards and four assists. Jad Racal canned three triples and collected 11 points and Wu likewise connected on three shots from beyond the arc and had 10 markers before fouling out in the final minute of the third quarter.
Saint Jude Catholic School, which won the Boys Juniors title a year ago with a 2-1 finals win over Jubilee Christian Academy, got 20 points and nine rebounds from Mallechi Colby Lim, who has a year remaining in his PCYAA eligibility.
Saint Jude, though, did not complete the season empty-handed as the Lady Green Knights overcame a twice-to-beat disadvantage in the finals to snatch the Ladies Juniors crown away from Jubilee Christian Academy with a 55-50 victory last Wednesday in a winner-take-all finals match behind their Fantastic Four combination of team skipper Faith Chu (18 points and nine steals), Avina Lok (17 points, including four triples, and nine rebounds), Alyssa Ty (10 points and 15 rebounds) and Shakira Lim (22 rebounds).
Put to waste were the farewell performances of Grade 12 students Sandra Villacruz, the tournament’s back-to-back scoring queen who chalked up 29 points and 15 rebounds, and mammoth center Wynne Ciara Luychinco, who got only nine markers but amassed 33 rebounds, 20 of them off the offensive end.
The Lady Jubileeans, who halted Uno High School’s three-year title reign a year ago with a 2-0 finals sweep, were a lily-white 8-0 following the double-round elimination play among five schools, including a pair of victories over Saint Jude, before disaster struck.
In the games that mattered most — the finals — it was Saint Jude which emerged triumphant. The Lady Green Knights edged their foes, 62-60, last February 16 to force a rubber match.
In the other PCYAA basketball divisions, St. Stephen’s High School retained the 12-Under Developmental title with a 2-0 finals sweep of Uno High School while also romping away with the championship hardware in the 14-Under Aspirants Division following a 2-0 finals win over Saint Jude Catholic School.
Pace Academy succeeds MGC New Life Christian Academy as the host school for PCYAA Season 7, which starts in October.
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