Grace Christian College and St. Peter the Apostle School routed their respective rivals to arrange a title showdown in the 45-and-above division of the Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. (FCAAI) Basketball Tournament on Monday, Oct. 19, at the Tanduay Gym in Quiapo, Manila.
Backed by Mintex and Fullercon, GCC unleashed the full might of its arsenal in the third quarter to overwhelm St. Jude Catholic School, 66-43, and move within a best-of-three series of extending its reign in the tournament, which featured 14 participating schools.
St. Peter the Apostle School, supported by Metro Asia, was equally ruthless in punching its ticket to the Finals, crushing A Prime Corp and AcroCity-backed Xavier School, 62-49, behind another well-balanced offensive attack.
Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series, backed by Smart Sports, Tanduay Athletics, Genius Hardware, Ultraforce Tires, Cellboy, PGFlex Linoleum, Boysen, Lamtex Pipes, Jiang Nan, Hangry Pares, Powerhouse Tools, L.F. Fireworks, BYD Valenzuela, BAIC, Jetour, Yong Kee Roasting House, 1118 Autospa, and TCL, is set for Friday.
(C) FCAAI
Clinging to a 28-21 halftime lead, Jeffrey Chua, Alexander Lao, and Jay Jay Chua spearheaded a series of offensive surges in the third quarter, outscoring St. Jude, 21-8, to establish a commanding 49-29 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.
Chua and Lao shared scoring honors for the Grecians with 12 points apiece, while Jay Jay Chua, Allan Anson Tan, Johannes Go, and Dexter Quan also made significant contributions to highlight GCC’s balanced offensive assault.
Meanwhile, Kerby Chua led three SPAS players in double figures with 21 points, while Nestor Ng Jr. and Adrianne Wong chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively, as the Paco-based squad controlled the game from the opening tip.
SPAS’ defense proved rock-solid, holding Xavier to zero players in double figures.
