St. Jude stuns Grace Christian, grabs last semis slot

MANILA, Philippines - St. Jude Catholic School claimed the last semis berth by downing Grace Christian College in their knockout match, 84-79, in the 39th Yakult Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association (MMTBA) Championship Monday at the Uno High School gym.

Kim Lo and Derrence Lam came through with clutch baskets down the stretch to beat Grace Christian College for the second time in their quarterfinal series and take the other twice-to-beat advantage in the semis.

Grace Christian College secured a twice-to-beat bonus in the quarterfinals after finishing No. 2 in the single round elims. St. Jude, however, forced the rubber match by scoring an 85-70 win last Friday.

St. Jude will face Uno High School in the semis of the event sponsored by Rusty Lopez, Converse, Puma, Davies Paint, FG Jeans, Burlington, MEC Computer, Healthy Options, Absolute Water, Outlast Batteries and PG Flex Linoleum.

Uno High School advanced to the semis by downing Hope Christian High School in their own do-or-die match, 69-66, also last Friday.

Defending champion Xavier School gained the first twice-to-beat privilege in the semis by topping the elims via a six-game sweep. The Golden Stallions, managed by Caesar Wongchuking, battle St. Stephen’s in the other semis pair.

For the second time, Lo finished in double-double with 19 points and 23 rebounds as St. Jude made it to the semis for the first time in a long while.

The semis starts tomorrow.