Previous Story
Sun Palace takes first finals seat
Sun Palace marches into the finals of the women’s division of the 2015 Tan Holdings Christmas Basketball Tournament following a 46-40 semis win against Mt. Carmel School last Saturday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.
Irish Pagarao and Ira Palero teamed up in towing Sun Palace into the championship game after scoring 21 and 15 points, respectively. Palero, who was held to one field goal in the first half, tallied 10 in the second, including two triples with the last one helping Sun Palace gain more distance against the feisty Lady Knights.
Mt. Carmel threatened the undefeated and highly favored Sun Palace in the first half by taking a 20-17 advantage. The Lady Knights peppered Sun Palace with five triples in the opening 20 minutes of play to go on top with Karleen Reyes knocking in three and Tawny Manibusan and Jan Travilla converting one each.
Pagarao led Sun Palace in the first half, logging 6 points and she drilled the team’s first three field goals in the second half to swing momentum to the first finalist. Pagarao went on to record 9 more markers, including Sun Palace’s final 3 points to foil Mt. Carmel’s bid for an upset.
The Lady Knights fell short in the end after Reyes failed to sustain her strong start, as she was held to 2 points in the second half. Travilla carried MCS on her shoulder, firing 8 points in the second half.
Meanwhile, Lob City and Panty Droppers fought for the second and last finals berth in the women’s division and results of the other semis tiff last Saturday will be reported in Saipan Tribune later this week.
Meanwhile, in the boys U19 pairing, the Sonics and Rollers 2 squared off for the first finals ticket last weekend, while Rollers 1 and the Ol’Aces will duel for the other finals seat this Thursday.
Sun Palace 46—Pagarao 21, Palero 15, Race 4, Phan 4, Ito 2.
MCS 40—Reyes 14, Travilla 13, Manibusan 6, Taimanao 6, Cho 1.
Scoring by halves: 17-20, 46-40.
