ATTENTION, scouts for high school teams in the Metro Manila area. Here’s a great opportunity for you to size up the top elementary student athletes aged 13-and-under that are seeing action in the 1st Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association (PCYAA) Aspirants basketball competitions at the Uno High School Gym in Manila.
The quarterfinal playoffs, featuring all eight member schools, will unwrap on Saturday, February 8. The pairings are: No. 1 seed Saint Jude Catholic School (7-0) vs. No. 8 seed Uno High School (0-7), No. 2 seed Philippine Cultural College (6-1) vs. No. 7 seed Saint Peter the Apostle School (1-6), No. 3 seed Pace Academy (5-2) vs. No. 6 seed Grace Christian College (2-5) and No. 4 seed Icure-Jubilee Christian Academy (4-3) vs. No. 5 seed Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy (3-4).
The top four seeds own a twice-to-beat advantage over their respective foes. The four quarterfinal winners subsequently will advance to the semifinals, where first- and second-seeded teams will also enjoy a twice-to-beat incentive. However, if No. 1 and/or No. 2 drop their quarterfinal series, their opponents will assume the twice-to-beat advantage in the semis.
The semifinal victors will clash for the PCYAA Aspirants championship in a best-of-three series. A third-place game will also be played between the semifinal losers.
The players to watch on Saturday include Carlo Lim and Kyle Barraza of Icure-JCA; Jharles Uy, Daniel Manalang and Lian Dy of Philippine Cultural College; Getson Lim, Jeff Lugay and Pol Antiporda of Pace Academy; Joao Filipino and Calvin Uy of host St. Jude Catholic School; and Sebastian Choi of Grace Christian College.
Muscle-bound Carlo Lim is a rugged swingman with his no-fear barrelling drives. The tournament’s leading scorer with a 21.6-point clip, his never-say-die spirit reminds one of a young Robert Jaworski (insofar as playing style is concerned).
Lim was the only player in the tournament to score in twin figures in each of his seven appearances in the PCYAA elimination phase, collecting 15, 30, 28, 25, 27, 11 and 15 points.
Last November, Carlo earned Most Valuable Player honors when he powered Jubilee Christian Academy to the 13-and-under Elementary Boys Division title in the Quezon City Athletic Association (QCAA) basketball competitions with a perfect 8-0 record.
In the finals, a 73-44 rout of Angelicum College, he came up with an 18-point, 7-assist, 6-rebound performance. The PCC Seagulls’ rotation is built around shooters Jharles Uy, a potent long-range specialist, and Lian Dy, and Twin Towers John Santos and Daniel Manalang.
The reed-thin but stratospheric Manalang is among the league leaders in rebounds and blocked shots. He could develop into a young Gabriel Banal and be an intimidating force in high school with some post-up moves once he learns to be more focused and less playful on the floor.
Pace Academy’s Getson Lim, the league’s No. 2 scorer at 17.9 ppg, is the traditional Goliath-like big fella with a menacing physique. He scores heavily around the paint and corrals rebounds like apples for the picking.
He owns the highest single-game scoring effort in the tournament with 39 points in an 83-73 victory over Grace Christian College.
Whereas Getson dominates around the paint, his teammate Lugay does his job from the outside.
Norming a league third-best 17 points every time out, Lugay once knocked in a tournament-high seven three-pointers in the Pacers’ 71-68 triumph over Icure-JCA.
St. Jude Catholic School swept the elimination round mainly on the three-pronged offensive attack of hardworking Joao Filipino (15.3 ppg), Calvin Uy (14.1 ppg), another long-range expert, and Bentley Tia (10.4 ppg)
.GCC’s Choi is a cool and calculated backcourter with a workmanlike attitude. No frills, no acrobatics and yet he gets the job done with his 16.9-point average.