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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Hope Christian inches closer to 2-title romp in Fil-Chinese alumni cagefest

Hope Christian inches closer to 2-title romp in Fil-Chinese alumni cagefest

Published Apr 23, 2026 03:24 pm

At A Glance

  • First to draw blood was Al-Cars-Hope's 30-39 years squad which rode the red-hot shooting of Jobert Mercado to outlast the Xavier Golden Stallions, 72-67, in the opener of their title series in the Smart Sports Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. presented by Tanduay Athletics held last Monday, April 20, at the Tanduay Gym in Quiapo, Manila.
Jobert Mercado, Arjan dela Cruz, Wowie Evangelista and Domingo Chung III
Jobert Mercado, Arjan dela Cruz, Wowie Evangelista and Domingo Chung III
In the duel between two proud schools, it was Hope Christian High School which displayed remarkable grit and poise down the stretch to emerge victorious over Xavier School – not once but twice.
First to draw blood was Al-Cars-Hope’s 30-39 years squad which rode the red-hot shooting of Jobert Mercado to outlast the Xavier Golden Stallions, 72-67, in the opener of their title series in the Smart Sports Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. presented by Tanduay Athletics held last Monday, April 20, at the Tanduay Gym in Quiapo, Manila.
Like their celebrated rivalry years ago, the match was tight and tense as both squads embodied the spirits of their respective schools that was best typified by Medina and Kyles Lao of McDavid x Windsor-backed Xavier.
While Lao outscored Mercado, 30-24, the latter got valuable support from Arjan dela Cruz, TJ Rangel and Christian Villar – all scored crucial baskets in the face of Xavier’s determined challenge.
Medina also finished with five rebounds and two assists while Dela Cruz and Rangel added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Phoenix coach Charles Tiu produced 9 points in limited minutes for Xavier due to AC joint sprain.
Not to be outdone was Hope’s 50-and-above squad which eked out a thrilling a 56-52 win over Emerald Pipes-Xavier in their own title series on Wednesday – thanks to the deadly troika of Domingo Chung III, Howard Evangelista and Jessie Angchonghoo.
Evangelista and Chung shared the scoring honors for the Premium Feeds-backed Hope with 13 points while Angchonghoo sustained his game-long brilliance with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
Hope Christian hopes to complete a double celebration with another win on Monday at the FilOil Arena in San Juan City.
Meantime, Joseph Uy and Lawrence Wu scored a triple each in extra period and Cellboy-St. Stephens beat New Fortune Mansion Seafoods-Chiang Kai Shek College, 84-78, to clinch third in the 30-39 division.
While Uy and Wu delivered the big baskets in overtime, it was Kish Grover Co who stood tallest for St. Stephen’s, posting a double-double of 22 points and 21 rebounds, while Uy and Kyle Yulo logged 13 points each. Wu finished with 9 points.
In the other game, Adornado Lim scored on a buzzer-beating layup to lift Hyundai Home Appliances-Grace Christian College to a pulsating 71-69 win over St. Stephen’s-Fruits by the Box in their battle for third in the 50-above division of the event backed 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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Smart Sports Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc.
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