ATHLETICS

Xavier Routs Hope Christian
Henry Liao (XS'72)

Posted Monday, 16-Jan-2006 11:17 AM
     

      A three-cornered championship race looms as Xavier School and St. Jude Catholic School joined Uno High School with identical 2-0 records following easy victories Friday night against Hope Christian (0-2) and Grace Christian (0-2), respectively, in the juniors division of the seven-school Tiong Lian basketball tournament.

      Xavier, which whitewashed Chiang Kai Shek 97-82 in its opener, routed Hope Christian 95-49 as the Stallions came close to reaching the century mark for a second straight game. All 13 players fielded in by coach Patrick Aquino scored at least two points. (A team is allowed to play a maximum 15 players per game.) Phillip Constantine Ong scored a team-high 15 points and handed out four assists.  Three other Xaverians were in double digits--Wesley Contreras, 12 points; Woody Co, 11 and three rebounds; and Charles Tiu, 10 along with five assists.

      At no time was Hope Christian in the game.  Xavier was up 31-14 after the first 10-minute quarter, 56-28 at halftime and 78-37 after three quarters.  Note that Xavier made seven more points after two quarters than what Hope scored for the entire contest.

      In the second game Friday night, St. Jude followed up its 69-49 win over Hope Christian last Jan. 11 with a 66-49 shellacking of Grace Christian.  Skipper Carl Cua, a gangling 5-11 center, again showed why he is a prime MVP candidate as he put together a sterling 15-point, 22-rebound, 4-assist performance against Grace Christian.  In the 20-point triumph over Hope Christian, Cua collected 18 points and 20 boards.

      Uno, which finished third a year ago, also went 2-0 after crushing Grace Christian 71-57 and upending host and two-time defending champion St. Stephen's High School,66-61.  Kevin Lee had 26 points vs. Grace Christian and 22 vs. St. Stephen's for a 24.0-point
clip.

      Currently, Chiang Kai Shek and St. Stephen's own 0-1 records.  Grace Christian and Hope Christian share the cellar with two losses in as many games.

      On Saturday, Jan. 14, Uno takes on St. Jude in a battle of undefeated teams.  The first game features Chiang Kai Shek vs. St. Stephen's.

      Xavier will next play St. Stephen's on Wednesday, Jan. 18 ( 5:30 p.m. )  Thereafter, it will be a busy week for the Stallions as they will see action on three successive playdates - Monday Jan. 23 vs. St. Jude ( 7:00 p.m. - likely to be televised on a delayed basis); Wednesday Jan. 25 vs. Grace Christian ( 5:30 p.m. ); and Friday Jan. 27 vs. Uno ( 7:00 p.m. ).  That's two tough matches (vs. St. Jude and Uno) in six-day span.

      Remember, every game counts as the No. 1 team after the single round-robin elimination phase is seeded outright to the semifinals and will enjoy a twice-to- beat advantage as well.  The Nos. 2, 3 and 4 teams will play in the short quarterfinals and enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage against the Nos. 7, 6 and 5 squads, respectively.

Go back to the top ^