FOR once, allow me to brag – not about myself but rather about my bouncy-bouncy son Justin Miguel Sembran Liao, who is a rookie varsity basketball player with the Juniors (High School) and 13-and-Under teams of Philadelphia High School.
Last Sunday afternoon, bubbly 5-foot-2 JM, a Grade 7 stude at the Talayan Village-based school, came off the bench to knock in four triples and finish with a career-high 18 points and five rebounds for the Panthers, who showed up with only six players in an 81-58 loss to the unbeaten Hope Christian High School Warriors in the 18th Metropolitan Amateur Sports Association (MASA) 18-and-under high school basketball tournament at the Saint Stephen’s High School gym.
For veteran star players, an 18-pointer in a MASA contest was no mean feat and simply par for the course. But for JM, a bubbly, cat-quick kid that never had any formal training until last March and only marked his 13th birthday last June, it was a breakthrough performance, considering that he had seen limited action in the tournament before then (with a high of two points vs. Hope Christian in first-round play).
Stunning it was also because before him only three other guys have made at least four three-pointers in the MASA contest.
JM’s previous high as a Juniors player had been five points (including his first-ever triple) during a game against Pace Academy last September in the Filipino Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation (FCAAF) high school tournament held at the hosting Philippine Cultural College gym.
Hours after JM’s 18-point career game, I posted the following statement in my Facebook account that read as follows:
Son, November 22, 2015 was the day that you picked up another pebble in the sands. Again this represents a tiny but meaningful stepping stone in your ambitious and arduous roundball odyssey.
The best is yet to come. To reach greater heights, though, you need to hone the other aspects of your game with hard work, persistence, perseverance, dedication and discipline.
Size does matter but so does your heart. Always play your hearts out. Stay humble. Arrogance has no place in sports, let alone, society.
Be thankful of the support extended to you by your parents and siblings, the coaching staff and the school community in general.
Foremost, remember to thank God the Almighty for all the blessings He has given you. Offer all your glory to God and make Him the centerpiece of your purpose-driven life. Go and shock the world, Youngblood!
—Proud Dad.
Early Sunday morning (November 22), JM had also suited up for the PHS team in the Filipino Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation (FCAAF) 13-and-under boys basketball tournament. The young Panthers dropped an 86-55 decision to unblemished Makati Gospel Church-New Life Christian Academy in a Group A game with JM contributing seven points (including one trey, on 2-of-4 field attempts), two rebounds and a pair of assists as the starting court general.
JM is averaging 7.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.00 steals in five tournament appearances, including an erstwhile career-high 10 points in a 55-17 shellacking of Saint Peter the Apostle Church in the season opener for both schools.
Philadelphia, which owned a 2-3 mark, qualified for the knockout quarterfinal playoffs and will clash with Group B topnotcher and unbeaten Chiang Kai Shek College (5-0) in one of the four Final Eight matchups at 10:30 a.m. The other pairings are A1-MGC-NLCA (5-0) vs. B-4 Saint Jude Catholic School (2-3), A2-Jubilee Christian Academy (4-1) vs. B3-Pace Academy (3-2) and B2-Saint Stephen’s High School (4-1) vs. A3-Grace Christian College (3-2).
Chiang Kai Shek College and MGC-NLCA own a twice-to-beat advantage.
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