UOG basketball teams lose tourney but gain experience

Jacether Andrew drives toward the basket for the Lady Tritons in a match against Team PPP at the “Hagåtña City Slam” tournament on Jan. 30 at the Paseo basketball court. (TRITON ATHLETICS )

The University of Guam Men’s Basketball Team and Women’s Basketball Team found it challenging to secure a win at the “Hagåtña City Slam” tournament hosted by Clutch Guam and Crowns Guam. Although there were a few close games, both teams could not overcome their losing streaks.

The tournament—held on Saturday and Sunday at the Paseo basketball courts—followed a 3×3 format. All games were 10 minutes long, with a running clock, inside the 3-point line. Each basket counted as one point, and shots outside the 3-point line were two points.

Not having much experience with the game format, both teams had shaky starts and dropped their opening games.

The Triton Men seemed a bit overwhelmed at the start of their first match against Team MVP. They settled down in the last five minutes but lost to Team MVP 17-7. Team MVP handed the Triton Men their worst loss of the tournament and went on to win the men’s division championship.

For their first match, the Lady Tritons took on Team Post’N. They managed to pull within 7-5 after a slow start but could not score again and lost to Team Post’N 10-5. The Lady Tritons picked up momentum in their second match against defending women’s division champions, Team Slay. UOG played great defense and gave Team Slay all they could handle but could not hit a final shot and lost 5-4.

The Triton Men finished day one with a physical, back-and-forth match against Team Bucketsville. UOG managed to pull within one point, but the clock ran out, and UOG lost by one point 16-15.

UOG opened play on Sunday with the Triton Men going up against the Triple 7s. Although they played well for the first five minutes, the Triton Men found it hard to score in the final minutes and lost 10-5. Their second match against the Hybrids was close to start, but the Hybrids pulled away in the second part to win 10-5. This game eliminated the Tritons from bracket play and sent them home with a 0-4 record.

Tritons’ Brandon Duenas prepares a pass in a match against the Hybrids at the “Hagåtña City Slam” tournament on Jan. 30 at the Paseo basketball court. (TRITON ATHLETICS)

The Lady Tritons kicked off day two with a match against Team PPP. Having a solid offense and strong passing game, Team PPP made a lot of inside layups and beat UOG 14-7. Team PPP remained strong throughout the tournament and claimed the women’s division championship.

With only four teams in the women’s division, the Lady Tritons were automatically in the semifinals and faced the defending champions, Team Slay, in the first round. Unfortunately for UOG, Team Slay had a better offense and secured the win with a final score of 8-3. The Lady Tritons were eliminated after their loss and ended the tournament with a 0-4 record.

“While we didn’t win any games, all of our student-athletes said they enjoyed the experience,” said UOG Triton Athletics Director Doug Palmer. “This tournament was also a great learning opportunity — competing against more seasoned teams will ultimately help our athletes become better basketball players in the long run.”

All UOG games were recorded and can be watched on the Triton Athletics YouTube channel.

Next weekend, the Men and Lady Tritons will compete in the “Love and Basketball” tournament sponsored by the MicroFriends basketball organization. The two-day tournament will be held on Feb. 6 and Feb. 13 at the Vicente S.A. Benavente Middle School Gym. (PR)