GRACE Christian College-Mintex Industrial -Sportsplus Is gunning for perfection, but standing in its way is St. Stephen’s High School-Genius Hardware as they collide in the Fil-Chi Athletic Association Inc. (FCAAI) 45 and Above Tournament Finals starting on Monday at the SGS Gym in Quezon City.
Led by Albert Edsel Chua, Alex Lao, and Allan Tan, the Graceans have dominated the competition, cruising to an unblemished 9-0 eliminations run to gain the top seed before a commanding 84-52 semis victory over Chiang Kai Shek School-Triangle Tires.
GCC odds-on favorite
Winning by an average of 18.5 points through 10 games, conventional wisdom points to GCC being the favorites in this best-of-three championship series presented by Tanduay Athletics and Smart Sports.
But the players remain wary, with Tan noting: “I don’t see any advantage on our part. Even if we swept the eliminations, back to zero na pagdating sa finals.”
The Stephenians, on the other hand, know that they’re coming in as underdogs.
Led by Iven Kho, Patterson Ngo, and Jefferson Tee, SSHS finished at second with its 6-3 card and gutted out a 75-65 win over St. Peter the Apostle School-Metro Asia in the semis.
“Iba yung samahan ng parehong team. Hopefully, maibigay namin yung best namin,” said Tee.
GCC won its elimination duel against SSHS, 65-57, last Aug. 17.
It’s a fitting follow up to a successful 40 and Above Tournament in this Fil-Chi league which has Wilbert Loa as chairman and Junel Baculi as commissioner.
Tip-off for Game One is at 8:30 p.m., immediately following the battle for third between St. Peter the Apostle School and Chiang Kai Shek College at 7 p.m.
Game Two is on Friday and, if necessary, Game Three is on Sept. 8.
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