Standings: Chiang Kai Shek College and Hope Christian High School registered their third straight victories last Saturday to share the early leadership in the 21st Filipino-Chinese Amateur Athletic Association Federation high school basketball tournament at the CKSC gym. Chiang Kai Shek College manhandled winless Grace Christian College, 95-49, and Hope Christian HS knocked St. Jude Catholic School out of the unbeaten ranks with a masterful 94-67 decision over the defending league champion. In the main game of a tripleheader, Philippine Cultural College broke into the winning column after two consecutive losses following a come-from-behind 60-49 win over winless Uno High School. St. Jude jumped to a 49-41 lead at halftime, but Hope Christian came roaring back at the start of the second half to take a 68-60 lead going into the payoff period. Hope Christian, which has nine years with pure Filipino heritage on its roster (including 6-5 freshman J. Apacible), banked on the perimeter shooting of third-year guard Janrey Garido and the inside scoring of sophomore center Errol Villar to post its third win in as many assignments. Hope Christian tightened its defense in the final 10 minutes as an exhausted St. Jude team lost steam and scored a measly seven points during the payoff period. Garrido topped Hope Christian with 25 points. Villar scored 19 and 6-2 rookie DJ Mendoza added 13 for the winners. St. Jude, which lost for the first time in three starts, was bannered by senior star Jason Ligad, who tallied 26 points. Much-improved strongman Richard Sy contributed 15 markers for the Judenites, who beat Chiang Kai Shek College to claim the Federation crown last season. Ligad, who is averaging 16.7 points in the tournament, is currently practicing with a UAAP Final Four school that is dominated by sophomore and rookie players.
HTML
Comment Box is loading comments...
|