Saipan Ice hands Docomo second straight setback

Saipan Ice & Water bounced back from its debut loss with an 83-71 victory over Docomo Pacific in the curtain-raiser in the 2014 JP World Corp. Customer Appreciation Basketball League last Friday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Saipan Ice drenched Docomo early, taking a 31-6 lead and never looked back to barge into the win column after falling to the league-leading Micronesian Brokers, Inc/Anchor, 66-88, last Oct. 1. Docomo Pacific absorbed its second straight defeat.

Jerome Norita, seen here going for a layup in an earlier league at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium, plays for Saipan Ice & Water in the JP World caging and scored 35 points in their 83-71 win over Docomo Pacific last Friday. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Jerome Norita and John Santy teamed up in Saipan Ice’s jackrabbit start with the former drilling 14 points and the latter adding 10 in the first period. Treat Kaipat also contributed in the fiery first quarter with his 6 markers matching the entire output of Docomo. Docomo got its 6 points off Tony Diaz’s last two field goals and Robert Sanciangco’s first basket for the team.

Docomo then redeemed itself from a lackluster showing in the first period with a 28-point production in the second canto to cut the deficit to a manageable margin, 34-49. Diaz and Sanciangco still it the board in the second period and drew some help from their teammates to recover from the first-quarter letdown.

Saipan Ice slowed down a bit in the second period, as Santy was held to one field goal, but Norita kept going, tallying 8 more points to keep their double-digit spread. With Santy a bit off, Norita got some support from Edgar Villanueva, who dropped 6 of his 12 markers in the second frame.

Villanueva and Norita continued leading Saipan Ice’s offense in the third, which ended with the Lower Base-based team still ahead by a big margin, 64-48. The duo combined for 11 of Saipan Ice’s 15 markers in the third period.

Saipan Ice maintained the double-digit advantage, as Docomo failed to keep its momentum in the third after an impressive second quarter. Docomo logged only 14 points with Diaz held to two field goals. Diaz and company then regained their shooting form in the fourth as they past the 20-point mark, however Saipan Ice match nearly every basket of its foe en route to the easy win.

Norita finished what he started, nailing 8 more points to post a game-high 35 markers. Santy contributed 19, while Villanueva and Kaipat chipped in 12 and 11, respectively. Diaz led Docomo with his 19 points.

Saipan Ice 83 – Norita 35, Santy 19, Villanueva 12, Kaipat 11, Paras 2.

Docomo Pacific 71 – Diaz 19, White 17, Sanciangco 12, Sablan 6, Hayes 4, Sanchez 4, Alvarez 2, De Leon Guerrero 2.

Scoring by quarters: 31-6, 49-34, 64-48, 83-71.