Hope Christian in Tiong Lian finals

MANILA, Philippines - Hope Christian High School routed St. Jude Catholic School, 89-64, to advance to the finals of the Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association (MMTBA) tournament for the second straight year at the Uno High School gym last Monday.

Like in their elims face-off, the top-seeded Hope Christian cagers practically settled the issue as early as the third quarter when they zoomed to a 72-43 lead behind Don Mendoza, King Benemerito and Clint Doliquez.

Doliquez scattered a team-high 15 points while John Apacible and Benemerito chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, as Hope Christian extended its winning streak to seven dating back to the elims of the tournament presented by Regan Industrials Sales Inc. and World Balance.

Hope Christian battles either the 14-time champion Chiang Kai Shek College or four-time defending champion Xavier School in the finals – a best-of-three affair – starting Monday.

Chiang Kai Shek College and Xavier are disputing the other finals berth at presstime.

The Blue Dragons, who finished the elims at No. 3, forced a knockout match in their own semis series with the No. 2 seed Golden Stallions by scoring an 83-76 victory in the event backed by Uratex, Burlington, Summit Drinking Water, 100 Plus, Supreme Steel Pipe, Superior Pipe, Ace Water Spa and Molten.

John Kevin Baytan put together a solid all-around performance for CKSC to finish with 22 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and two steals in 38 minutes. He also helped shackled Xavier star Jeron Teng, who finished with 22 points on 7-of-24 shooting.