CNMI blows out Guam, Yap

The CNMI Junior Nationals’ Dean Blake, left, fakes off the defense of Dan Barcinas before pulling up for a shot during a scrimmage last week at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasum. Blake scored in double figures in both wins of the CNMI in the 2016 U17 Micronesian Basketball Tournament at the Palau National Gymnasium in Koror. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The CNMI Junior Nationals became the instant favorites in the 2016 U17 Micronesian Basketball Tournament after crushing Guam and Yap in their first two games at the Palau National Gymnasium in Koror.

The Commonwealth cagers debuted in the MBT last Monday and hammered Guam, 105-75, while in their second game yesterday, the CNMI bets picked up where they left off, crushing Yap, 101-74. With its 2-0 record, the Preston Basa-coached squad boosted its Final Four chances and will need to win only one of its two remaining matches to advance to the playoffs. The CNMI Junior Nationals will face Belau this morning and Palau tomorrow.

Against Guam, the CNMI blew the game wide open in the second half after a slow start in the first, using its speed to force turnovers and get away with fastbreak layups.

Earlier in the opening canto, Guam managed to take the lead, 26-21, after capitalizing on the numerous fouls the CNMI committed. In the second, the Commonwealth cagers grabbed the upperhand, 48-42, but were still disorganized on defense.

“We had a slow start in the first half. Our players were nervous because this is their first tournament outside Saipan. Guam had a full court man-to-man pressure defense at times during the first half and was successful in forcing turnovers that gave them easy baskets. In the second quarter, we sent Guam to the foul line a lot of times and they made most of their free throws,” assistant coach Omar Ajoste told Saipan Tribune yesterday.

Omar added that by the second half, they made the necessary adjustments, starting off with the pace of the game.

“We stepped on the pedal, but still we were in foul trouble and Guam managed to make their free throws. Then in the last three minutes of the third, we started making steals and converted them into layups,” Omar added.

By the end of the third, the CNMI turned the 7-point cushion to a promising 79-62 advantage. Gregory Sablan led the breakaway, scoring 8 points in the pivotal third, while four of his teammates added at least 4 points each.

The Commonwealth crew went on to complete the lopsided victory in the fourth. They cherry picked in the paint, making putbacks and point-blanked shots after Guam opted for a smaller lineup to counter its foe’s fast-paced game, but the gamble backfired on the losing squad.

Sablan top-scored for the CNMI with his 23 points, while big men Jester Kintaro and Blake Dean chipped in 11 and 10, respectively, while teaming up for 19 of the squad’s 41 rebounds. Jethro Cruz was the other double figure scorer for the Commonwealth, adding 10.

All 12 players of the CNMI scored against Guam and the former’s balance offense resulted to the team’s 13 assists. The Commonwealth also had 20 steals in its first match in the tournament.

In their second game, the CNMI Junior Nationals recovered from a slow start, too, en route to another 100-plus point production.

After Yap trimmed the CNMI’s double-digit lead, 45-31, to 8 in the third period, 57-65, the latter turned on the heat in the final canto to cruise to victory.

“We played better defense in the last four minutes of the fourth quarter. We forced a lot of turnovers in that stretch and converted Yap’s errors into easy layups,” Ajoste said.

Ron Atalig Jr., who had only 3 markers in their win against Guam, came out smoking versus Yap, drilling a game-high 26 points. Cruz backed him up, tallying 18, while Aiferson Atan and Blake contributed 12 apiece.

The rest of the CNMI Junior Nationals graced the box score to pound Yap, which was led by the 25 markers of Zeric Gant.

Yap dropped to a 0-2 record as it also lost its debut to Palau last Monday night.

Meanwhile, Palau and Guam were scheduled to meet last night at 6pm, while Yap was slated to play its third game in the tournament against Belau at 8pm.

Monday Game
CNMI 105 — Sablan 23, Kintaro 11, Cruz 10, Blake 10, Atan 9, Paragados 6, Castro 6, Rios 6, Castillo 6, Ngirarois 4, Siech 4, Atalig 3.
Guam 75 — Borja 13, Mandapat 12, Quinene 11, Cabral 8, Soriano 7, Gabriel 7, Fegurgur 6, Pelkey 5, Taitano 3, Afileje 2.
Scoring by quarters: 21-26, 48-42, 79-62, 105-75.

Tuesday Game
CNMI 101 — Atalig 26, Cruz 18, Atan 12, Blake 12, Kintaro 5, Castillo 5, Paragados 5, Siech 5, Castro 3, Sablan 2, Ngirarois 2.
Yap 74 — Gant 25, Defngin 17, Falag 6, Belmog 6, Wen 6, Haleyesemal 5, Flanug 2, Gilnug 2.
Scoring by quarters: 22-18, 43-31, 65-57, 101-74.