M&M Salas, GSM still perfect

GSM Lady Ol’Aces’ Eleina Santos, right, attempts an and-1 shot against a CTSI defender during the first half of their game in the 2017 TanHoldings Christmas Basketball Tournament last Saturday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

M&M Salas Ol’Aces is a win away from sweeping the eliminations, while the GSM Lady Ol’Aces is also undefeated in the 2017 TanHoldings Christmas Basketball Tournament as they waltzed past their respective opponents last Saturday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

M&M Salas improved its record to 6-0 after crushing 670 Sonics XVI in their boys division game, 94-37, while GSM Lady Ol’Aces also earned a lopsided win over CTSI in the girls division match, 47-24, for a perfect 7-0 card.

Sisters Eleina and Anna Lei Santos scored in double figures to keep the GSM Lady Ol’Aces’ win streak. Eleina had a game-high 12 points, while Anna Lei chipped in 10, drilling 8 of them in the first half where the Lady Ol’Aces established a big lead, 26-10.

The Go See Mark-sponsored squad went on to pad its lead in the second half with Eleina picking up where her sister left off and their other teammates also stepping up. Eleina had a string of 6 points early in the second half to add to CTSI’s woes, while five other GSM Lady Ol’Aces players also hit the board in the final 20 minutes of the one-sided game.

With CTSI failing to counter GSM Lady Ol’Aces’ shooting, no player from the latter broke into double figures, as Nanaka Watanabe only mustered a team-high 8 markers. CTSI dropped to third place in the team standings with its 4-3 record, behind the 5-2 of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan and the 7-0 of GSM.

Meanwhile, M&M Salas moved closer to a sweep of the round-robin elimination after more than doubling the 670 Sonics XVI’s output in the second boys division game last weekend.

M&M Salas drew points from almost all the players it fielded in the game to stretch its streak to six. The division-leading team, which has already secured one of the four playoff berths, will go for a sweep tomorrow when it takes on Saipan Vegas Extreme at 8pm.

Dean Blake top-scored in M&M Salas’ easy victory with his 18 points, while Coby Santos, Aiferson Atan, and Kevin Kabiriel also finished in twin digits with 12, 11, and 10, respectively. The foursome’s production were enough to outgun the entire 670 Sonics XVI, whose leading scorer was Ronald Bernardo ( 8 points).

670 Sonics XVI fell to a 2-4 record and with only one match left (versus sister team 670 Sonics XVIII) it may likely miss the playoffs. Only the Top 4 teams will move to the playoff round and pending results of last night’s matches, M&M Salas, 670 Sonics XVIII (4-1), Sun Palace (4-1), and Kanoa Resort (3-2) are at the top half of the team standings in the eight-squad field.

Third Game
GSM 47— E. Santos 12, An. Santos 10, D. Camacho 8, Camacho 4, Pangelinan 4, Kenty 3, Deleon Guerrero 2, Simran 2, A. Santos 2.
CTSI 24 — Watanabe 8, Alferos 6, Alegre 3, Espinosa 2, Pablo 2, Sabino 1.
Scoring by halves: 26-10, 47-24.

Fourth Game
M&M Salas 94 — Blake 18, Santos 12, Atan 11, Kabiriel 10, Abejo 9, Siech 8, Sacdalan 8, Manalo 6, Bondoc 4.
670 Sonics XVI 37 — Bernardo 8, Dancel 8, Favor 4, Inos 3, Mendoza 3, Chavez 2, Seo 2.
Scoring by halves: 45-19, 94-37.