All eyes will be on Xavier School and Hua Siong College of Iloilo as they clash in the best-of-three Finals of the Filipino-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. 40’s Division, which begins on Friday at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.
Leading the Stallions are Chris Tiu and Joseph Yeo, who are eager to avenge last year’s Finals loss to the same Hua Siong squad.
Standing in their way once again is Hua Siong’s formidable tandem of James Yap and Ken Bono.
For Hua Siong head coach Denok Miranda and Xavier head coach Howie Chang, seeing Yap and Tiu face each other on the court again is a matchup they never imagined they would witness from the sidelines.
“Parehas pogi,” quipped Miranda. “Reminiscing nung time din sa UAAP, rookie si Chris and si James pa-graduate na. Siyempre, MVP si James at may pride din ’yan. Si Chris ganoon din tapos kondisyon pa sila ni Joseph.”
“Actually, yung James Yap and Chris Tiu matchup, dream match yan. It’s surreal for me to see them now, coaching Chris and going up against James. The stars will definitely show up, but we challenge our guys for them to step up,” added Chang.
According to FCAAI founder Wilbert Loa, ticket reservations have been overwhelming as fans eagerly anticipate another chapter in the Yap-Tiu rivalry.
Still, the championship series is about more than just the marquee matchup.
For Xavier, the Finals are a celebration of brotherhood.
“For Xavier, we’ll fight until the end and give it our best. At the end of the day, the brotherhood is most important, yung samahan, magkasama, at naglalaro ang lahat,” said Chang.
For Hua Siong, meanwhile, the motivation goes beyond basketball as the team looks to represent the pride of the province.
“Sa amin naman ay maglalaro lang kami nang tama. Yung camaraderie nandito na lalo na yung mga galing probinsya. Siyempre, gusto rin nilang i-prove ang sarili nila, galing sila sa probinsya,” said Miranda.
Both finalists earned convincing semifinal victories in contrasting fashion. Xavier rallied from behind to edge St. Stephen’s, 74-71, while Hua Siong cruised past Grace Christian, 108-74.
Although much of the spotlight will be on Tiu, Yeo, Yap, and Bono, both coaches believe the series will ultimately be decided by the supporting cast.
Game 2 is scheduled for Monday, while a winner-take-all Game 3, if necessary, will be played on Friday next week.
