St. Jude vs CKSC; SSHS faces No 1 Xavier

MANILA, Philippines - St. Stephen’s High School and St. Jude Catholic School routed their respective rivals to complete the semis cast in the 17th Chiang San Ching Memorial Alumni Invitational Basketball at the SGS gym on Araneta Avenue, Quezon City over the weekend.

Using their height and heft advantage to the hilt, the Judenites romped away with a 113-56 win over Manila Patriotic School and set up a semis duel with No. 2 seed Chiang Kai Shek College in the 22-under tournament.

The Stephenians, on the other hand, earned the right to face top seed Xavier School following an 80-68 rout over Grace Christian College in their own quarterfinal series.

Xavier and Chiang Kai Shek College, arch rivals in the Tiong Lian League, advanced outright to the semis after finishing 1-2 at the end of the single-round elims.

The Xavier Stallions swept their six matches, including a huge win over the Dragons in the opener of the tournament sponsored by Rusty Lopez and Supercharger by Big Chill.

Both the Stallions and the Dragons enjoy twice-to-beat edges over their rivals in the event held in honor of Chian San Ching, founder of the Philippine Kiao Ching Athletic Association.

Kiao Ching Athletic Association is considered as the oldest active Filipino-Chinese Sports organization in the country, having produced several PBA players, including Xavier’s Jeric Teng, Chris Tiu and Joseph Yeo, and Chiang Kai Shek’s Justin Chua.