Yu, Chua brothers make history in SHAABAA

CEBU, Philippines — The Yu and Chua brothers did not only help their respective teams win back-to-back championships, they also made history in the recently concluded Sacred Heart Ateneo Alumni Basketball Athletic Association (SHAABAA) Season 29.

Dave Wilson and Patrick Wilson Yu etched their names in stone as the first siblings in the league’s 30-year history to claim the Finals Most Valuable Player awards and earn a spot in the Mythical Five at the same time in the same season while leading their teams to a successful title defense.

Dave Yu chalked up an impressive double-double of 27 points and 15 rebounds with two assists and two steals as the Harley Division Batch 2012 completed a two-game sweep of Hatch IT Solutions Batch 2010 to repeat as Division B champions.

With an average of 18.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.38 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game, Dave made it to the Division B Mythical Five together with season MVP Gabe Branzuela and Jasper Diaz (Batch 2010), Franco Te (Batch 2004), and Elddie Cabahug (Batch 2005).

Dave’s younger brother Patrick Yu sizzled with 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, and blocked two shots as Core+ Batch 2018 outclassed BRX Batch 2015, 92-77, in the deciding game of their best-of-three finals to secure back-to-back crowns in Division C.

Patrick was earlier named in the Mythical Five with an average of 14.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game alongside his teammate Benedict Andre Chua, who normed 13.1 points, laced with 9.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.0 blocks per outing to grab another honor as Defensive Player of the Year.

Like the Yus, Andre, Anton Bennett (Batch 2015), and Benj Antoni Chua (Batch 2026) listed their names in record books as the first brothers to form part of Division C Mythical Five in the same season since the inception of Cebu’s oldest alumni-based cage league back in 1995.

Interestingly, their father, businessman-sportsman Benedict Chua, played for Core Pacific in Division A, turning SHAABAA into a platform for family bonding while spotlighting the alumni spirit of their beloved alma mater. — (FREEMAN)