FORMER University of San Carlos guard John Martin Galinato continues to show off his tremendous potential as he helped the Chiang Kai Shek College Blue Dragons capture the 2015 Philippine Secondary Schools Basketball Championships (PSSBC) Jumbo Plastic Linoleum Cup with a hard-earned 85-82 win over the De La Salle-Zobel last weekend at the SGS Gym in Quezon City.
The Blue Dragons solidified their standing as one of the best high school teams in the country as they added the Junior Archers to their list of victims in this competition, which includes powerhouse and defending champions San Beda.
And at the center of it all was Galinato, the former USC stalwart and son of renowned former pro, Abe Galinato, who connived with teammate Martin Oczon to hit clutch shots down the stretch to seal their title victory. He was eventually named to the competition’s Mythical Five squad.
A three by Oczon actually gave the Blue Dragons a 72-62 lead at the start of the fourth but the Junior Archers persevered and trimmed the deficit to 82-84. De La Salle had a chance to tie or take the lead as they regained possession with just 19 seconds remaining but tournament MVP Aljun Melecio missed his three-point attempt to give Chiang Kai Shek the victory and the crown.
Chiang Kai Shek became only the second team from the Fil-Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation (FCAAF) to win the championship, matching the feat of Hope Christian School.
Oczon led Chiang Kai Shek with 21 while Galinato had 13 points and five assists.