GCA soars past MCS in boys caging, 66-56

  The Grace Christian Academy Eagles outlasted the Knights of Mount Carmel School, 66-56, in Monday’s Marianas Interscholastic Sports Organization boys varsity basketball match held at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

The win improved GCA’s win-loss record to 2-5, while MCS remained winless after six tries.

Meanwhile, Kagman High School downed Saipan International School, 49-42, in the junior varsity feature.

The win evened the KHS Junior Ayuyus’ card to 2-2, while winless SIS endured its fourth straight defeat.

In the varsity match, GCA built an early 19-14 lead off of 12 points by Moon Bin Hong in the opening 10 minutes. Hong caught fire out of the gate and scored the first 10 points for the Eagles.

MCS’ Angelo Montes and Aaron Pamintuan teamed up for 10 markers to keep the Knights hot on the trail.

Then GCA’s defense contained MCS to just nine points in the second quarter, as the Eagles stretched out a 34-23 margin at halftime; five different GCA players accounted for the offense in the push.

MCS did not back down, however, and battled back in the third quarter. The Knights pulled within a couple baskets with just two minutes left in the period, but GCA recovered and maintained a 47-40 cushion heading into crunch time.

MCS’ Thomas Kautz stepped up with eight big points in the rally.

In the end, MCS could not make enough stops and instead had two of its players foul out in the process.

To make matters worse MCS point guard Reynald Cabaltica collided with GCA’s Dae Min Jeon and had to leave the game due to injury.

Notably, Jeon is a new addition to the Eagles roster and was well received by his teammates.

He led two other teammates in double digits with 14 points, while Cabaltica and Montes finished with 13 apiece.

In the juniors duel, KHS managed a slim 10-8 edge in the first quarter before pulling away, 21-13, at halftime. The Ayuyus did a good job sharing the ball as seven different players chipped in on offense.

SIS’ Chris Cepeda was contained to just two baskets in the first half. He came out after the break and managed a handful of early checks, but the Geckos could not stop the bleeding on defense.

SIS mounted a 21-point rally in the clutch, but came up short once again in the end. The Geckos’ Cepeda and Jack Liu tallied seven points in the last-ditch effort.

KHS’ Jonathan and Jesse Santos combined for 23 points, while SIS’ Cepeda managed 16 in yet another hard fought loss.

The season continues at 4pm tomorrow with a junior pairing between SIS and top-ranked MHS (4-0), followed by the KHS varsity Ayuyus (3-1) taking on MCS.

VARSITY

GCA 66 – Jeon14, Hong 12, A. Salas 10, J. Salas 9, Do Lee 6, Woo 6, Libut 4, Reyes 4, Da Lee 1.

MCS 56 – Cabaltica 13, Montes 13, Kautz 8, K. Kim 7, R. Salas 6, Pamintuan 5, Evangelista 2, Saludez 2.

Scoring by quarters: 19-14, 34-23, 47-40, 66-56.

JUNIOR VARSITY

KHS 49 – Jo. Santos 12, Je. Santos 11, Mafnas 8, Foster 6, Ada 4, Racaido 4, Borja 2, J. Evangelista 2.

SIS 42 – Cepeda 16, Liu 12, Johnson 6, J. Kim 3, M. Kim 1.

Scoring by quarters: 10-8, 21-13, 35-21, 49-42.