Hope Christian bags Tiong Lian crown

MANILA, Philippines - Hope Christian High School snapped a 20-year title drought as it downed Xavier School, 62-55, to capture the 43rd Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association-BonChon Chicken Juniors Championship crown at the Chiang Kai Shek College Gymnasium last Thursday.

Arjan dela Cruz dished out a double-double job as he fired 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to power Hope Christian to its fourth championship. He also had four steals, three assists and one shotblock.

The victory likewise avenged Hope Christian’s finals defeat to Xavier two years ago. 

“It took us 20 years to win a title again, but it’s alright. It’s a nice feeling to be champions again,” said Hope Christian coach Stevenson Tiu.

The title win actually was the second in three months for Hope Christian, which also ruled the inaugural staging of the Philippine Secondary School Basketball Championship (PSSBC). 

“Everybody contributed to the victory but it was Arjan who struck hardest,“ said team manager Bernard Yang. “He was simply hot today, he gave everything to help us avoid what happened to us in the past two years.”

Dela Cruz even outshone Xavier star and eventual league MVP Kyles Lao who was held to just 18 points after shooting 33 and 31 points, respectively, in Games 1 and 2.

Hope Christian led as many as 18 points thrice – the last at 44-26 with 5:14 left in the third – but the Stallions rallied furiously to cut the deficit to four, 55-51.

But Dela Cruz knocked down straight points and Jobert Mercado scored on an undergoal stab to finally take the fight out of the Stallions, 61-53.