Xavier Aspirants claim 6th straight Tiong Lian Title
February 18th, 2008It took a pair of contrasting victories (101-73 and 69-64) over Chiang Kai Shek in less than 28 hours (Feb. 16/17) for Xavier School to claim its sixth consecutive Aspirants Division title in the 32nd Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association tournament.
Saturday noon (Feb. 16) at the Uno gym, the Golden Stallions whipped the Blue Dragons, 101-73, to take Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series.
Xavier, a team composed of Grade 6 and 7 students, got off to a quick 10-0 start but an injury to Jeron Teng four minutes into the first quarter (which forced him to the sidelines for nearly five minutes) allowed CKSC to come back and even lead by one point at 14-13.
Order was restored when Teng returned to action late in the first period and the Gold and Blue went ahead, 19-14.
Halftime score was 39-37 in favor of Xavier but Chiang Kai Shek struck early in the third period to post a slim 45-43 edge. However, Xavier applied a suffocating defense that produced numerous steals and fastbreak layups and propelled the City of San Juan-based high school to a 72-50 advantage going into the final 10-minute period.
Teng knocked in 16 of Xavier School’s 33 points in the third quarter. Following that offensive outburst by its foe, CKSC gave up the fight and surrendered meekly.
Teng, a seventh-grader who does not turn 14 until next month, finished with seven assists and 34 points, including 23 in the second half. Four other players scored in double digits for the winners - Kyles Lao, 15; Paolo Cabero, 13; Marco Ayuste, 12; and Juan Santos, 11.
Saturday’s game might have been a walk in the park for Xavier. But Sunday afternoon’s Game 2 was a far different story. The Stallions overcame a 12-point deficit midway through the third quarter before registering a series-clinching 69-64 triumph.
Except for a brief lead (47-46 on Lao’s twinner) with 1:50 left in the third quarter, the Gold and Blue was on the shorter end of the stick for the first 33 minutes as CKSC dictated the tempo of the game from the start.
The Blue Dragons played to a crawl, milking the shot clock to 10 seconds before setting up a play. This disrupted the Golden Stallions’ rhythm and limited their fastbreak opportunities.
The gameplan, the recipe for a potential upset, was brilliant. It’s the one usually employed by a weak team against a powerhouse - play slowball to keep the score down and hope this will put them in a position to remain competitive in the payoff quarter.
For most of the time, the strategy worked. Xavier fell behind 16-11 after the first quarter and 33-25 at halftime. It even trailed by as much as 12 points, 41-29, before a 9-0 blast by the champions sliced the deficit to three, 41-38. CKSC temporarily recovered its bearing and scored the third quarter’s final four markers to lead, 50-47.
Xavier moved ahead at the 7:23 mark, 55-54, on Teng’s drive. CKSC retaliated in the next play, 56-55, to regain the lead. However, Teng scored from under the basket with 5:23 left to give the Gold and Blue a 57-56 advantage that it would never surrender again.
Another strong drive by Teng and a close-in shot from Alberto Oxales, against a free throw by CKSC, brought the score to 61-57, with 2:53 remaining.
Teng scored four more markers, including one with 45.9 ticks left, and the Xavier Aspirants were up 65-60 - their largest lead of the game (together at 67-62 and 69-64) - and headed to their sixth championship in a row.
Teng, who tallied 10 of Xavier’s last 16 points (Oxales also had a fielder and Lao and Santos each knocked in a pair of free throws in the dying seconds), wound up with 37 points (including 14 in the 3rd quarter and 12 in the 4th quarter) on 15-of-34 FG, 5-of-11 FT shooting), 22 rebounds, four steals and two blocks in a stunning, 40-minute performance.
Far more impressive than his numbers were Teng’s sheer grit and determination and the will to win.
Deservedly so, Teng picked up his second straight Aspirants title in the Tiong Lian competitions.
In the first-ever Girls Division finals last Saturday, unbeaten Chiang Kai Shek downed Immaculate Conception
Academy, 58-53. Among the members of the ICA squad were Denise Tiu and Catherine Tang, daughters of Ruben Tiu and Harry Tang of Xavier Batch ‘72.
In the Juniors Division’s third-place game Sunday afternoon, Uno High School edged St. Jude Catholic School, 56-53.
