Apacible shines as Hope ends CKSC 5-game run

MANILA, Philippines - John Apacible dished out a double-double game as Hope Christian High School stopped defending champion Chiang Kai Shek College, 67-63, in the 43rd Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association-BonChon Chicken Championship at the CKSC gym in Manila over the weekend.

Playing his best game so far, Apacible scored 21 points and hauled down 12 rebounds as he helped deal CKSC its first defeat after five straight wins in the six-team, double-round elims.

The win, which avenged their 80-76 loss to CKSC in the first round, boosted Hope Christian’s record to 4-2 and enabled Xavier School to gain a share of the lead at 5-1 with a 105-43 repeat win over winless Grace Christian College.

Apacible, who also had three assists to earn his first BonChon Chicken Player of the Game award, gave Hope Christian its biggest lead at 66-55 in the last 1:29.

Host St. Stephen’s High School, meanwhile, improved its record to 3-3 by downing St. Jude Catholic School, 72-34, in the opening game of the tournament backed by Solar BTV, Molten and Summit Water.

Pierce Tyrone Chan led St. Stephen with 17 markers and 14 boards while Kevin Ng chipped in 16 points, three assists and three steals.

In the Aspirants Division, defending champion Chiang Kai Shek College and Xavier forged a best-of-three title series by finishing 1-2 after the elims.