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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Hope Christian survives Charles Tiu's 32-point explosion to grab Fil-Chinese lead

Hope Christian survives Charles Tiu's 32-point explosion to grab Fil-Chinese lead

Published Mar 2, 2026 01:32 pm

At A Glance

  • Through the steady shooting of Jobert Mercado, Carl Kenneth Sumalacay, Arjan dela Cruz and John Apacible, Hope Christian built a commanding 69-48 advantage before dousing cold water on Xavier's fightback to take the solo lead with a clean 3-0 slate.
Charles Tiu goes for a jumper.
Charles Tiu goes for a jumper.
All Cars-backed Hope Christian High School survived the 32-point explosion of Charles Tiu of Xavier School-McDavid x Windsor and eked out a thrilling 82-76 win in the 30-39 years-old division of the Smart Sports Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. presented by Tanduay Athletics held recently at the Tanduay gym in Quiapo, Manila.
Through the steady shooting of Jobert Mercado, Carl Kenneth Sumalacay, Arjan dela Cruz and John Apacible, Hope Christian built a commanding 69-48 advantage before dousing cold water on Xavier’s fightback to take the solo lead with a clean 3-0 slate.
The loss was the first in four games for Xavier, which got only 4 points this time from former MPBL MVP Gab Banal. The Golden Stallions slipped to a share of second to third places with St. Stephen’s-Cellboy.
Mercado led Hope Christian’s early assault and finished with 19 points while Dela Cruz buried two triples on the way to 16 points. Sumalacay and Garrido had 12 points each and Apacible added 9 to underscore Hope Christian’s well-balanced attack.
In the other game, St. Jude Catholic School-Linea Metal Furnishing evened its record to 2-2 following an 84-58 drubbing of still winlessUno High School-Golden Peters.
Xavier School is also doing good in the 50-59 division as it shares the lead the with St. Stephen’s-Fruits by the Box and Chiang Kai Shek College-Triangle Tires – all with 3-1 cards.
Not far behind are Grace Christian College-Hyundai Home Appliances (2-1), Hope Christian HS (2-2) and St. Jude Catholic-Duralite (2-2).
The event also has the backing of Genius Hardware, Ultraforce Tires, Cellboy, PGFlex Linoleum, Boysen, Lamtex Pipes, Jiang Nan, Hangry Pares, Powerhouse Tools, L.F. Fireworks, BYD Valenzuela, BAIC, Jetour, Oedo, 1118 Autospa, and TCL. 
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