Rhagnee Sinco and Jaypee Belencion stepped up big time and Iloilo’s Hua Siong College demolished Xavier School, 79-49, to force a deciding Game 3 in the 40-years division Finals of the Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. (FCAAI) on Monday, July 27, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Sinco was almost unstoppable as he made all but two of his 10 field goal attempts to lead the Lamtex Pipes-backed Hua Siong with 18 points on top of five boards and two assists, while Belencion made his coronation as this year’s MVP very memorable with a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards.
Their stellar performances more than made up for the awful shooting of two-time PBA MVP James Yap who missed all his 11 attempts from the rainbow territory. In all, Yap was 3-of-20 from the field but still contributed 9 points, 8 boards and three assists.
Former UAAP MVP Ken Bono came late in the game due to other commitment but still produced 8 points in a game witnessed by PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial and sportsman Caesar Wongchuking.
The deciding Game 3 of the series is set Friday at the same venue with the Powersox-AcroCity-backed Xavier hoping star player Chris Tiu can recover from a hamstring injury he suffered in the team’s 75-72 win in Game 1.
Taking advantage of Tiu’s absence, Hua Siong asserted its might right away, coming through with offensive spurts to post a commanding 42-18 halftime advantage which it gallantly protected to win pulling away.
Typifying Xavier’s offensive woes was Joseph Yeo’s 2-of- 15 shooting from the field as he ended up with just 9 points – a far cry from his 30 points in Game 1.
Apart from Belencion, other members of the Mythical First Team were Christian Luanzon of St. Stephen’s, Sean Co of Chiang Kai Shek College, Albert Edsel Chua of Grace Christian and Alfie Martinez of Philippine Cultural College.
Yap, Bono and Sinco comprised the Mythical Second team along with PCC’s Byron Gan and GCC’s Alexander Lao.
The league has the backing of Smart Sports, Tanduay Athletics, Genius Hardware, Ultraforce Tires, Cellboy, PGFlex Linoleum, Boysen, Lamtex Pipes, Jiang Nan, Hangry Pares, Powerhouse Tools, L.F. Fireworks, BYD Valenzuela, BAIC, Jetour, Yong Kee Roasting House, 1118 Autospa, and TCL.
