Lady Knights survive 2OT thriller

Mt. Carmel School’s Louisa Han unloads a shot against Grace Christian Academy’s Jasmine Phan during their game in the CCOPSA caging yesterday at the GCA court in Navy Hill. (Roby N. Pamintuan)

Mount Carmel School outlasted Grace Christian Academy in double overtime, 28-26, during the girls division game in the 2018-2019 Commonwealth Coalition of Private Schools Association Varsity Basketball League yesterday at the Lady Eagles court in Navy Hill.

Louisa Han delivered the key baskets for the Lady Knights in the second overtime, as she zipped past her defenders for two fastbreak buckets, while Tina Choi made the lone field goal for GCA. After Choi’s shot off a miss from her teammate, the Lady Eagles failed to hit a basket, as they struggled against MCS’ swarming defense in the closing seconds of the game.

Earlier in regulation, with GCA down, 19-22, Jasmine Phan nailed a 3-pointer under duress to send the game into overtime. Phan swished in two treys in the fourth period to keep the Lady Eagles in the game.

Then in the first overtime period, Phan made two clutch free throws with less than a minute to go, putting GCA on top. However, Quincy Chinen countered with a fastbreak layup to force another standoff.

The Lady Knights went on to have the last say in the second overtime with Han’s pair of baskets. The MCS captain scored a team-high 12 points, 8 came in the fourth quarter and overtime periods. Chinen had two treys and finished the game with 8 points, while Kalyn Diaz added 4 markers.

Phan and Choi submitted 12 markers apiece, while Anna Nunez recorded the 2 other points of GCA.

With the tough win, the Lady Knights maintained their undefeated record (3-0), while The Lady Eagles fell to an even 2-2.

Meanwhile, MCS also won over GCA in the boys division game, 64-28.

Minsu Park led the Knights with his 12 markers, while Angelo Factor had all his 10 points in the third canto. Seung Jun Baek logged a team-high 10 points for GCA, while Steven Balakrishna and Spencer Palacios contributed 7 apiece.

The Knights now hold a 8-3 card, while GCA dropped to a 3-9 slate.

Over at the Koblerville Gymnasium, Saipan Southern High School thumped Mount Carmel School 2, 59-38, to boast a 9-2 card, while MCS 2 spiraled to a 3-9 mark.

In other results, No. 1 Kagman High School defeated Agape, 65-57, at the latter’s home court in Gualo Rai.

KHS improved to a 12-1 record, while Torchbearers are still searching for their first win after 12 matches.

Regular season games will continue today with Saipan Southern hosting Saipan International School at the Koblerville Gymnasium and Agape having a double-header in Gualo Rai. Agape’s girls team will take on MCS at 3:30pm, while Agape 1 and MCS 1 will lock horns in the boys game at 4:30pm.

MCS 28—Han 12, Chinen 8, Diaz 4, Cho 2, F. Bucalig 2.
GCA 26—Choi 12, Phan 12, Nunez 2
Scoring by quarters: 7-4, 11-10, 16-12, 22-22, 24-24 (1OT), 28-26 (2OT)