Jr. Ayuyus survive Jr. Geckos in OT

Kagman High School’s Junior Ayuyus outlasted Saipan International School, 40-36, in overtime as the Marianas Interscholastic Sports Organization’s junior varsity boys basketball season picked up last Monday at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

KHS evened out its win-loss record to 1-1, while the SIS Junior Geckos are still searching for their first win after starting the season with a couple of hard-fought losses.

Meanwhile, MHS Junior Dolphins torched Grace Christian Academy, 43-21, in the early match.

MHS improved its record to 2-0 while issuing GCA its first loss in three games.

In the late match, KHS took a candlestick 11-10 lead in the opening period thanks to a 3-pointer by Jesse Santos.

SIS, however, roared back to seize control in the second quarter and took a five-point lead, 17-12, at halftime.

SIS’ Chris Cepeda carried the torch for the Junior Geckos with eight points in the first half.

After holding the Junior Ayuyus to just one point in the second half, SIS’ defense broke down in the third quarter and allowed KHS to reclaim the lead, 28-23, heading into the final period.

Santos’ eight points bested SIS’ collective effort in the push.

It was a back-and-forth matchup from the start and the action was far from over at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

SIS buckled back down on defense and contained the Junior Ayuyus to just three markers at crunch time, while Cepeda led another comeback on the other end.

Cepeda buried three shots, including a buzzer-beater from the right wing to force overtime. However, KHS found its second wind and ran away with the victory in the bonus period.

Cepeda managed five more points in the clutch, but KHS’ Santos obliged him with seven.

KHS’ Santos topped the field with 21 points, while SIS’ Cepeda tallied 19 on the short end.

In the first match, GCA managed an early 6-3 edge in the opening 10 minutes, but MHS settled down in the second quarter and assumed a 14-10 lead at the half.

MHS’ Shane DeLeon Guerrero led the way with six points in the second quarter push.

After the pause MHS broke out to a stout 27-15 advantage in the third period thanks to the eight points of Dai Lixing.

MHS never looked back and ran away with the match in the final period.

MHS’ bench made its mark late in the game as six different players put a hand in on the action.

After starting its season with a pair of big wins, GCA’s offense was held to single digits in all four quarters on Monday. MHS, on the other hand, executed a well-balanced attack.

MHS’ Lixing led the Junior Dolphins with 10 points, while James Libut came away with eight.

The season continues at MHS today with a 4pm junior varsity pairing between unbeaten MHS (1-0) and KHS followed immediately by the varsity ticket. The MHS varsity is unbeaten in three games, while KHS holds a 2-1 slate.

MHS 43[/B] – Lixing 10, DLGuerrero 6, Aguilar 4, Camacho 4, Palacios 4, Yap 4, Ogumoro 3, Sanarez 3, Ano 2, Kwon 2, Manalili 2.
[B] GCA 21[/B] – Libut 8, Lee 4, Sugue 4, Smithee 2, Reyes 2, Del Rosario 1.

KHS 40[/B] – Je. Santos 21, Jo Santos 8, Evangelista 4, Borja 2, Mafnas 2, Racadio 2, Foster 1