St. Stephen’s High School and Hope Christian High School registered contrasting victories Wednesday night (Feb. 4) in the Juniors Division quarterfinal playoffs of the 39th Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association tournament at the Uno Gym.

No. 4 seed St. Stephen’s HS dumped No. 5 seed Chiang Kai Shek College, 69-58, to advance to the semifinals while No. 6 seed Hope Christian HS forced a rubber match with a stunning 74-72 victory over No. 3 seed Uno HS.

St. Stephen’s HS, which earned a Final Four berth for the first time since 2007, will take on top seed Xavier School (6-0) in their semifinal series on Wednesday, Feb. 11 (5:30 p.m.), with the defending Juniors Division champion Golden Stallions enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage. Should a rubber match be necessary, meaning a SSHS win over Xavier School next Wednesday, it would be played on Friday, Feb. 13.

Upset-conscious Hope Christian and host Uno HS clash once more on Friday, Feb. 6 (7:00 p.m.), with the winner advancing to the semifinals against the winner of the No. 2 Grace Christian College vs. No. 7 St. Jude Catholic quarterfinal series.

Grace Christian will tangle with St. Jude on Friday, Feb. 6 (5:30 p.m.), armed with a twice-to-beat advantage.

St. Stephen’s HS, which scored a 51-50 decision over CKSC last Jan. 30 to gain the No. 4 spot and the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals, never trailed throughout their rematch.

The Stephenians got off to a 10-0 start and led 20-13 after the first period. Though the Blue Dragons stormed right back to deadlock the score at 24-all, SSHS knocked in six straight points to post a 30-24 advantage at halftime.

CKSC trailed by just one on three occasions 34-33, 36-35 and 41-40) before SSHS outscored its foes, 10-3, to carry a 51-43 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Blue Dragons brought down their deficit to six, 57-51, with seven minutes left. However, SSHS put together 12 unanswered points from reserve Michael Lim (six), Joseph Uy (a trifecta) and Clyde Aparicio (three), to seal the deal, 69-51.

Aparicio, the SSHS skipper, put together a monstrous effort with 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. The senior swingman was ably supported by Lim, who scored 16, Wesley Ang, who collected nine on three threes, and Joseph Uy, who had seven.

CKSC, which failed to advance to the finals for the first time in four years, got 19 points from guard Karl Villaflor and 13 from frontliner Alvin Qua. Both players have completed their Tiong Lian eligibility.

Hope Christian, which battered St. Jude Catholic School, 62-50, in its lone victory in the elimination round to shatter a 22-game losing streak dating back to year 2006, trailed nearly throughout the first three quarters. It fell behind 20-10 after the first and 33-28 at halftime, before a three-pointer by former volleyball player James Ko to end the third quarter gave Hope its first taste of the lead, 54-53.

The payoff quarter was a nip-and-tuck affair with Uno moved ahead, 66-64, on a basket by Mark Ronald Chua. But Hope countered with seven straight free throws (7-of-8) from guards Janrey Garrido (5-for-6) and Alvin Monzon (2-for-2) to secure its biggest lead at five, 71-66, time down to 39.6 seconds.

Uno’s cat-quick playmaker Isaac Lim scored six consecutive points against a Monzon free throw for another deadlock at 72-all. The Uneans missed a golden opportunity to break the tie in their next possession then committed a foul against a an inspired Garrido, who coolly sank a pair of charity shots with 7.8 ticks remaining for the game-winning points.

Hope Christian’s final 10 points were all secured from the free-throw line, having gone 10-for-12 in the area during the final two minutes of play.

The red-hot Garrido scored 21 of his 23 markers (11-of-16 FTA) in the second half. Two other players in double figures for Hope – Alvin Monzon, who got 18 points (along with 14 boards), and Ko, who had three threes and 14 markers.

Uno, which was forced to a rubber match by a lower-seeded team in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, got 23 points apiece from Lim (20 in the second half) and Chua (who also hauled down 15 rebounds) and 10 from Michael Reyes.

The Tiong Lian games are being televised by the fast-rising Makisig Sports Network via Skycable Channel 76 and 82 on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5-9 p.m.