In a duel between two proud schools, Hope Christian High School showed remarkable grit and poise down the stretch, emerging victorious over Xavier School—not once, but twice.
Drawing first blood was Al-Cars-Hope’s 30–39 squad, which rode the red-hot shooting of Jobert Mercado to outlast the Xavier Golden Stallions, 72–67, in the opener of their title series in the Smart Sports Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. presented by Tanduay Athletics. The game was held last Monday at the Tanduay Gym.
True to their storied rivalry, the match was tight and tense, with both squads embodying the spirit of their schools—best exemplified by Medina and Kyles Lao of the McDavid x Windsor-backed Xavier side.
While Lao outscored Mercado, 30–24, the latter drew crucial support from Arjan dela Cruz, TJ Rangel, and Christian Villar, all of whom delivered key baskets against Xavier’s determined stand.
Medina added five rebounds and two assists, while dela Cruz and Rangel chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. Charles Tiu, suiting up for Xavier, contributed nine points in limited minutes due to an AC joint sprain.
Not to be outdone, Hope’s 50-and-above squad eked out a thrilling 56–52 win over Emerald Pipes-Xavier in their own title series on Wednesday, powered by the deadly troika of Domingo Chung III, Howard Evangelista, and Jessue Angchonghoo.
Evangelista and Chung shared scoring honors for the Premium Feeds-backed Hope with 13 points apiece, while Angchonghoo sustained his all-around brilliance with 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Hope Christian now eyes a double celebration, needing just one more win on Monday at the FilOil Arena.
Meanwhile, Joseph Uy and Lawrence Wu each drilled a triple in overtime as Cellboy-St. Stephen’s defeated New Fortune Mansion Seafoods–Chiang Kai Shek College, 84–78, to clinch third place in the 30–39 division.
While Uy and Wu delivered the big baskets in the extra period, Kish Grover Co dominated for St. Stephen’s with a double-double of 22 points and 21 rebounds. Uy and Kyle Yulo added 13 points each, while Wu finished with nine.
In the other game, Adornado Lim scored on a buzzer-beating layup to lift Hyundai Home Appliances-Grace Christian College to a pulsating 71-69 win over St. Stephen’s-Fruits by the Box in their battle for third in the 50-above division of the event backed Genius Hardware, Ultraforce Tires, Cellboy, PGFlex Linoleum, Boysen, Lamtex Pipes, Jiang Nan, Hangry Pares, Powerhouse Tools, L.F. Fireworks, BYD Valenzuela, BAIC, Jetour, Oedo, 1118 Autospa, and TCL.
