Garapan reclaims cage crown

Garapan Elementary School bounced back from an infamous finish last season with a championship win in the 2015 Public School System Boy Basketball Tournament held this month at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

Garapan Elementary School players and coaches Jonathan Ball, standing right, Walter Mendez, standing left, pose for a group photo before an interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday at the Mallards’ stage. Garapan won the 2015 Public School System Boy Basketball Tournament held this month at the Marianas High School Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Mallards, who placed last in the 2014 tournament after failing to notch a single win in the eight-team field, redeemed themselves in the April 18 caging and regained the title they won in 2013, following a 17-14 victory in Game 2 of the finals against William S. Reyes Elementary School.

The champion squad is composed of J.J. Johnny, Anthon Saurez, Dexter Marzo, Peterson Francis, Hanferny Kapwich, R-Son Menchor, Jericho Tomboc, Freidrich Garon, Francisco Hapdei, Andre Camacho, and Matthew Tawagan. Walter Mendez and Jonathan Ball are the team’s coaches.

The Mallards won all their elimination round games, prevailing against Kagman, San Vicente, Koblerville, WSR, and Gregorio T. Camacho. Then in the double-elimination playoffs, Garapan fell to WSR, sending the finals to a deciding Game 2.

“After we lost Game 1, we made some changes to our defensive strategies and these worked in Game 2,” said Ball, who has been calling the shots for Garapan for three years.

Mendez, who made his coaching debut with the Mallards, said they won the championship despite a short preparation.

“We held a tryout and more than 20 joined. We selected 12 and then trained for about two weeks, four times a day for nearly two hours. We thought them the basics and helped them improve their skills during our training sessions,” Mendez said.

“Going into the tournament we knew we had a chance, but we never anticipated to go undefeated in the elimination round because the other teams are also good and have trained longer than us,” the rookie mentor added.

After sweeping the elimination round, Garapan, which had a twice-to-beat advantage in the finals, let its guards down in Game 1, while WSR leaned on its good shooting to extend the championship duel. In Game 2, Garapan regrouped and used its height advantage to finish off WSR.

“We talked to the boys after losing Game 1 and told them to do what they were doing during our practice sessions—play team defense and be aggressive on offense,” Ball said.

Garapan’s victory in the boys division foiled WSR’s bid for a sweep this season. The Kingfishers earlier clinched the girls tiara against Oleai with coaches Jerry Diaz, Melissa Dickinson, and Jude Loste guiding the squad. The three also coached the boys runner-up team composed of Jae Hee Kim, Merrick Toves, Matthew Dalugdog, Sebastien Manabat, Brandon Saipipi, Christopher Ayuyu, Anthony Lajara, John Caruana, Jason Matalog, Roger Sumpay, Darryl Soriano, Derrik Reyes Jr., and G.J. Mukawa.