HOPE Christian High School demolished St. Jude Catholic School, 89-64, to advance to the finals of the Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association (MMTBA) Tournament for the second straight year Monday at the Uno High School gym.

Like the first time they clashed in the elims, the top-seeded Hope Christian cagers practically settled  the issue as early as the third quarter when  they zoomed to a 72-43 advantage  --  thanks to the powerful inside plays of Don Mendoza, King Benemerito and Clint Doliquez.

Dolinguez scattered a team-high 15 points while  John Apacible and Benemerito chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, as Hope  Christian extended its winning streak to seven dating  back to the elims of the  tournament presented by Regan  Industrials   Sales Inc. and  World Balance.

Hope Christian battles either the 14-time champion Chiang Kai Shek College or four-time defending champion Xavier School in the finals --  a best-of-three  affair --  starting Monday.

Chiang Kai Shek College and Xavier are disputing  the last finals berth at presstime.

The Blue Dragons, who finished the elims at No. 3, forced a knockout match in   their own semis   series  with the No. 2 seed   Golden Stallions by eking out an 83-76 victory in the event also backed by Uratex, Burlington,   Summit   Drinking Water, 100 Plus,  Supreme Steel Pipe, Superior Pipe, Ace Water Spa and Molten.

John   Kevin  Baytan put   together a solid    all-round  performance for CKSC to finish with 22 points, 12   rebounds, five   assists, five  blocks and  two steals in 38   minutes of action aside  from  helping limit the production of   Xavier star Jeron Teng to just 22 points on 7-of-24 shooting from the field.

Meantime,  Chiang  Kai Shek College  also  forced a   knockout match with  Xavier in  the  finals of the   Aspirants division  after  scoring a 112-71 win in  Game 2 of their  best-of-three title series.

Game 3 is  scheduled today.

In the  girls division,  defending champion St. Jude Catholic School  prevented  CKSC from   sweeping their own title series by registering a thrilling 63-60 win in Game 2.

Newly-appointed  Barangay  Ginebra team consultant Alfrancis Chua   is  the  commisisoner, while   Lyceum  of  the   Philippines assistant coach  Chris Brower is the deputy commissioner.

For more Tiong Lian game stories, log on to www.tionglianbasketballph.webs.com  and www.gameface.ph.