MANILA – Hua Siong College of Iloilo-Lamtex Pipes bowed to Xavier School-Acrocity x Zhoosh, 73-69, in Game 2 of the Fil-Chi Athletic Association Inc. (FCAAI) 40s Division Finals on Wednesday night at the Playtime FilOil Center in San Juan.
Holding to a 65-63 lead after a basket by Leo Canuday Jr., Hua Siong surrendered seven straight points to Xavier — five from Chris Tiu and two from Paul Chua — to find themselves trailing at 65-70.
Hua Siong trimmed the deficit to 69-70 on two free throws by Ken Bono and a basket from Richlien Teneso, but a three-pointer from Eldridge Liao sealed the victory for Xavier.
Tiu finished with 20 points, including two three-pointers, to go with seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal for Xavier University, who tied the best-of-three championship series at 1-1.
“Playing for Xavier is like playing for a family. Just look at the crowd here inside the venue, they are all like brothers cheering us,” Tiu said after the win. “It is still a different sense of pride to play for Xavier.”
Joseph Yeo top-scored for Xavier University with 22 points, including five three-point conversions, Liao had another good shooting game as he tallied 18 markers, on six three-pointers.
Hua Siong were on fire early as they established a 25-15 lead after the opening quarter courtesy of Eduardo Allado before widening it to its largest at 17 points midway through the second quarter.
Xavier University, however, slowly clawed their way back in the second half, cutting the deficit to 47-51 after three quarters before continuing their run in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Negrense James Yap led the way for Hua Siong with 23 points, including four three-pointers, Allado contributed 12 markers, while Game 1 top-scorer Ken Bono struggled with seven points and 11 rebounds./PN
BOX SCORE
XAVIER 73 – Yeo 22, Tiu 20, Liao 18, J. Chua 8, Sioco 3, P. Chua 2, Go 0, Syiaco 0, Ng 0.
HUA SIONG 69 – Yap 23, Allado 12, Tenezo 8, Sinco 7, Bono 7, Canuday 6, Barcellano 3, Villegas 2, Rizaga 1.
Quarterscores: 15-25, 30-41, 47-51, 73-69.
