by Henry Liao (72)

It’s eight straight championships for Xavier School in the Aspirants Division of the Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association tournament. Monday night (February 15), Xavier School downed Chiang Kai Shek College, 76-66, to complete a two-game sweep of the best-of-three Aspirants Division finals held at the Jacinto Tiu Competition Court inside the Xavier School campus.
The game was far closer than the final score indicated as the Golden Stallions were challenged throughout. Xavier School trailed by two points, 17-15, after the first 10-minute quarter and fell behind by as much as 10 points, 34-24, midway through the second quarter before trimming the deficit to three, 36-33, at halftime.

Chiang Kai Shek College was still ahead, 40-33, when Xavier School went on a 10-0 run – eight straight by Vincent Soliven (including a pair of triples) and two free throws by Jarrell Lim – to regain the upperhand, 43-40. The third quarter ended 54-51, in Xavier’s favor. The Blue Dragons trailed by only two, 65-63, with four minutes left when Korea-born Chang Gi Hong went ballistic and struck for eight consecutive markers inside the paint to help Xavier build a 10-point lead, 73-63, with barely a minute remaining.

Jarrell Lim, who hit at a team-best 19.1-point clip for the entire tournament, scored 20 points.  Soliven got 15 points (including three triples in the second half), Hong contributed 14 and Anton Lapez had 11. Bobby Francisco  led Chiang Kai Shek College with 21 points.  John Nonato and John Gallego knocked in nine markers apiece.

In gifting head coach John Sy with his third consecutive Aspirants title, Xavier School registered a perfect 9-0 record in the seven-school competitions.