Southern, Agape win in MISO caging

Saipan Southern High School and Agape Christian School barged into the win column in the 2013-2014 Marianas Interscholastic Sports Organization Boys Basketball League after downing separate foes last Wednesday night at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

In the varsity match, the Manta Rays snapped a two-game slide after defeating Eucon International School, 72-66, while Agape bounced back from a debut loss to MHS in the freshmen division with a 32-26 victory over Southern.

The Torchbearers hung tough against the Manta Rays in the homestretch, drilling crucial free throws in the closing seconds to withstand the latter’s final rally.

Southern made one last push when Elnathan Wong went for a coast-to-coast layup off a steal, cutting Agape’s lead to 3 points, 59.4 seconds left in the game. The Manta Rays then had a chance to move further after Agape faltered on its offensive set, but instead of pulling up for a shot Wong dished it over to a teammate, who fumbled.

Agape’s quarterback Jomac Manzano picked up the loose ball and Southern was forced to foul him to stop the clock. Manzano made both shots and after Southern muffed a triple on the other end, Agape made another trip to the stripe with Manzano splitting his free throws. Another botched offensive set for the Manta Rays returned possession to the Torchbearers, who sealed the win with a pair of charities from Tao Yang in the last 9.4 seconds of the match.
Yang top-scored for Agape, posting 14 points, while Manzano added 12. Wong led the winless Rays (0-2) with his 10 markers.

In the varsity game, Southern leaned on Emersion Feria to make it to the win column after dropping its first two games.
Feria sizzled for 29 big points and was the lone double figure scorer for Southern. He drilled the Rays’ first 14 points in the fourth quarter to keep the team in the lead before drawing help from three teammates in the homestretch.

Feria also recorded the first 5 points of Southern in the opening canto, which ended with Eucon holding a shaky 1-point lead, 13-12, after earning its last 5 points from the foul line. The game remained close at halftime with Allen Yu finishing the first half with back-to-back baskets for Eucon’s 34-30 cushion.

Then in the third canto, tables turned with Southern now ahead by a hair, 52-51, after getting a triple from Art Borromeo. Feria was limited to two field goals in the third period, but took over Southern’s offense anew in the fourth to give the Rays their first victory of the season.

Varsity Game
SSHS 72 – Feria 29, Javier 8, Palacios 7, Camacho 7, Kintaro 6, Raquero 3, Castro 3, Borromeo 3.
Eucon 66 – Yu 20, Ren 14, R. Wang 13, T. Li 10, W. Li 6, J. Wang 2.
Scoring by quarters: 12-13, 31-34, 52-51, 72-66.

JV Game
Agape 32 – Yang 14, Manzano 12, Ou 6.
SSHS 26 – Wong 10, Park 6, Merante 6, Diyco 2, Bahillo 2, Muna 2,
Scoring by quarters: 9-2, 18-10, 25-18, 32-26.