CKSC rules Tiong Lian via sweep of Hope HS

MANILA, Philippines—Chiang Kai Shek College crushed Hope Christian High School, 75-63, to win the 42nd Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association Tournament via a two-game sweep while Xavier School’s Jeron Teng won a record third straight MVP Thursday at the Uno High School gym.

The Blue Dragons never trailed in the contest after grabbing an 18-16 lead at the end of the first quarter and even led by 15, 59-44, early in the fourth quarter as Chiang Kai Shek became the first No. 3 seed team to win the crown in recent history.

In securing the right to face No. 1 seed and unbeaten Hope Christian in a best-of-three title series, the Blue Dragons defeated No. 2 and twice-to-beat four-time defending champion Xavier in the semis. They took Game 1, 79-75.

It was the 15th title for the Goldwin Monteverde-mentored Blue Dragons, which capped Chiang Kai Shek’s dominance of the league after also ruling the Aspirants (14-years-and-under) and Girls divisions crowns earlier.

The 6-foot-3 Teng, who is going to play for La Salle in the coming UAAP, shared the limelight with the Blue Dragons after becoming the first player in the league to cop the highest individual award thrice, a feat that is likely to stand for years.

The game was stopped for about 10 minutes with eight minutes and 32 seconds remaining, and CKSC ahead, 59-48, due to a circuit breakdown. That gave Hope a much-needed break as it managed to trim CKSC’s lead to four, 62-58, after unleashing a 10-3 run with Janrey Garrido scoring five.

But John Kevin Baytan rose to the occasion, coming up with a beautiful spin move to finally take the life off the Hope Christian squad in the tournament presented by Regan Industrials Sales Inc. and World Balance.