PCYAA caging gets going Sunday

The Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association kicks off its new season on Jan. 14 with the staging of the basketball competitions at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

Four matches in the 19-under division and one in the girls high school category will highlight the opener with title contenders Grace Christian College and Jubilee Christian Academy facing at 11 a.m. in the boys’ juniors division. Also on tap is the reigning three-time champion Uno High School-Jubilee Christian Academy match at 12:30 p.m.

The Lady Uneans have not lost since the tournament’s inaugurals in 2015 and will be putting their 31-game winning streak on the line against the Jubilee Christian side.

In other games, Uno High School takes on defending champion Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy at 2 p.m. while St. Stephen’s High School, the league’s newcomer, battles St. Jude Catholic School at 3:30 p.m.

Philippine Cultural College and Pace Academy, meanwhile, slug it out in the main dish at 5 p.m.

The PCYAA is composed of nine Chinese-Filipino schools in Metro Manila, including Grace Christian College, Jubilee Christian Academy, Makati Gospel Church-NLCA, Pace Academy, Philippine Cultural College, Saint Jude Catholic School, Saint Peter the Apostle School, Saint Stephen’s High School, and Uno High School.

“This is the first time that the PCYAA will be playing its basketball games outside a member venue and the PCYAA Board is hopeful that a lot of the league fans will come out and support their schools on opening day at the Filoil Arena,” said Melvin Lim of host Jubilee Christian Academy.

Other competitions in the 2017-18 PCYAA sports calendar are table tennis (boys and girls), volleyball (girls’ high school), chess and badminton, which is making its debut this season.