St. Stephen faces tall odds versus Xavier

It’s going to be a big task for surprising St. Stephen High School, which will go up against defending champion Xavier School in the semifinal round of the 39th Yakult Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association next week.

This was after St. Stephen ousted last year’s second placer Chiang Kai Shek College via a masterful 69-58 win last Wednesday in the tournament supported by PG Flex Linoleum and Outlast Batteries and aired over Makisig Network Sky Cable channels 76 and 82.

In that contest, Clyde Aparicio sizzled with 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as St. Stephen repeated over CKSC which it had beaten in the elimination, 51-50, via a buzzer-beating three-point shot coming from Joseph Uy.

To make it to the finals, St. Stephen must beat Xavier School twice and that could be a “mission impossible.” Xavier School had manhandled St. Stephen, 97-70, in their first meeting last Jan. 16.

But St. Stephen High coach Jojo Villa thinks the task is doable.

“We just have to take it one game at a time. If we think of the odds and feel like it’s difficult to win twice over Xavier, then talo na kaagad kami. Our main concern at the moment is to win our first game and to force a rubber match,” said Villa, who once played for the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.

Having beaten CKSC twice is already an achievement for St. Stephen. Now, Villa and his wards are hoping to pull off the biggest upset in the 39th Yakult MMTLBA.