Cellboy-backed St. Stephen High School drew inspired performances from Lawrence Wu and Kish Co to outlast St. Jude Catholic School-Linea Metal Furnishings, 68-61, boosting its bid for an outright semifinals berth in the 30-39 years-old division of the Smart Sports Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. presented by Tanduay Athletics on Friday at the Tanduay Gym in Quiapo, Manila.
Wu poured in 17 points, including five in the payoff period, as the Stephenians tied Xavier School-McDavid x Windsor Golden Stallions for second and third places with identical 5-1 records heading into the final week of the single-round eliminations in the eight-team tournament.
Co contributed a double-double with 10 points and 17 rebounds, while Joseph Uy and Jason Pascual added eight points each.
The Stephenians, however, must overcome league-leading Al Cars-backed Hope Christian HS on Monday to secure an automatic semifinals spot.
Bannered by Phoenix head coach Charles Tiu, Gab Banal, Kyles Lao, and Jarell Lim, the Golden Stallions are heavy favorites against the struggling Chiang Kai Shek College-Fortune Mansion Seafoods Restaurant on Friday, March 20.
The top two finishers after the single-round eliminations will advance directly to the Final Four, while the No. 3 team faces No. 6 and No. 4 goes up against No. 5 in the knockout quarterfinals.
In another game, Uno High-Golden Peters captured its first win in five starts by downing the CKSC Blue Dragons, 64-59, behind 21 points from Andrei Tanlo and 14 from Aldriane Anglim.
The victory kept Uno’s quarterfinal hopes alive, while the loss dropped CKSC to fifth with a 2-3 record.
Meanwhile, Xavier and St. Stephen’s maintain their No. 1 and 2 positions in the 50-and-above division, both with 4-1 marks in the event, which is also supported by 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.
