UPSET-conscious Philippine Cultural College (PCC) looks to capture its second Aspirants (14-under) title in league history and Jubilee Christian Academy (JCA) seeks to lock up its first-ever Developmental (12-under) crown in its second finals stint as Game 2s of the best-of-three finals in both divisions of the 7th Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association (PCYAA) basketball competitions are held Thursday, November 28, at the Uno High School gym.
Philippine Cultural College upset erstwhile unbeaten Jubilee Christian Academy, 50-40, in the opener of the Aspirants finals last Tuesday, employing a stonewall defense that has defined its game in the playoffs since dethroning 2018 champion St. Stephen’s High School in the semifinals with a pair of 41-40 and 44-37 victories.
Cultural got off to a slow start in Game 1, allowing Jubilee a 15-10 lead early in the second quarter. A 13-0 blast turned things around for the Golden Seagulls, who led, 27-18, at the break. The relentless, suffocating defense of Golden Seagulls coach Lester Del Rosario’s troops held Jubilee to a measly six points in the second frame and forced it to commit five 24-second shot-clock violations in the first 20 minutes.
Cultural never trailed in the second half as JCA could not puncture the hoops due to the unforgiving stonewall defense of its foes. It was ahead by 17 points, 48-31, with 4:06 to go as a shell-shocked JCA crowd fell into a deafening silence.
Renjiro Chavez, whose driving scoop shot has been his staple, topscored for PCC with 26 points. Jason Dong struggled in the early goings before canning three treys in the second half for nine points. Flashy John Shi collected eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists and big fella Brent Lao cleared the glass for a game-high 16 rebounds.
While Marcus Raymundo had 14 points and nine reebies for Jubilee, the team’s top two season-scoring leaders with double-digit averages, Jude Hao and Matt Sio, were held to five and six points, respectively. Sio’s points came with PCC ahead, 50-34, and the outcome already decided. Hao and Jowen Ng Lio (seven points) each shot just 1-for-10 from three-point range.
Jubilee’s eight-game winning streak came to a halt at a most inopportune time.
In case Jubilee Christian Academy bounces back in the second game, Game Three will be held on Saturday, Nov. 30.
Meanwhile, Jubilee’s Developmental counterparts continue to roll, improving its record to 9-0 with a hard-earned 72-67 decision over a never-say-die MGC New Life Christian Academy crew that fought gallantly till the end.
JCA was ahead, 62-44, following a bucket to open the fourth quarter. But the New Lifers trimmed the once-imposing deficit to just four points, 67-63.
With his bookend partner sidelined by an injury at the 6:15 mark that forced him to the sidelines for 4.5 minutes, bull-strong Sheehan Tan took matters into his own hands. He completed a three-point play with 1:21 to go and then had a layup off his own steal to seal the deal for Jubilee, 72-63, with 51.9 seconds remaining.
Tan finished with 36 points (19 of them in the third quarter), 23 rebounds, seven assists, seven steals and four shot blocks for JCA. Uy, who is the team’s No. 1 scorer for the season, returned to service at the 1:40 mark and wound up with 23 markers.
MGC, which ranked No. 2 during the elimination phase, got 25 and 22 points, respectively, from 11-year-old Adam Uy and team scoring leader Trey Chua.
Game Two of the Developmental Division finals will also be played today, November 28. If necessary, the third game is slated for Saturday, November 30.