Previous Story
The Game overcomes Lakay in open caging
|
Posted on Apr 04 2023
The Game’s DJ Ong drives against Tony Kim in the open division of the 2nd Annual Saipan Centennial Lions Club Basketball League last Friday at the Civic Center Basketball Court in Susupe. (MARK RABAGO)
The Game leaned on the game-long brilliance of DJ Ong and the closing acumen of Greg Deleon Guerrero and Steve King to turn back Lakay, 81-72, in the open division of the 2nd Annual Saipan Centennial Lions Club Basketball League last Friday at the Civic Center Basketball Court in Susupe.
Lakay actually took the initiative early on as John Mejarito and Chinese Poksu were on target in the first quarter, which they took by a deuce, 15-13.
Ong, however, found his stride in the second and with help from Deleon Guerrero pushed The Game to a 33-30 lead at the half.
The Game then put more distance between them and Lakay at the start of the second half as Ong went off, scoring 13 of his game-high 24 points in the third to give them a 58-46 spread coming into the fourth and final quarter.
Lakay made their expected rally at the start of fourth, but Deleon Guerrero and King started cooking in the fourth to seal the deal. The duo combined for 18 of The Game’s 20 total points in the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Deleon Guerrero and King back-stopped Ong’s 24-point performance with 20 points and 15 points, respectively, as the Game went above .500 at 2-1. Lakay, which dropped its third game in four matches, was led by the 15 points of do-it-all forward Tony Kim with Mejarito and Bryan Mendiola chipping in 11 markers each.
The first game pitting defending champion Blue Haus against A’s Car Aircon was halted due to rain with the latter leading. The game will be completed at a later date.
In games last Thursday, Susan’s Catering notched its first win of the season in the open division after beating K2 Ballerz, 102-93. Susan’s Catering thus improved its record to 1-3, while K2 Ballerz dropped to 1-2.
In the masters division the same evening, Blue Eagle/Royal Pacific ran roughshod over Double A/Vizion Insurance, 90-58, for also its first win in two tries, while keeping their opponents winless at 0-2.
The Game 81 – Ong 24, Deleon Guerrero 20, King 15, Arellano 10, Mendiola 5, Chua 3, Ferrari 2, Natividad 2.
Lakay 72 – Kim 15, Mendiola 11, Mejarito 11, Malinay 10, Poksu 8, Llave 7, Gaviola 6,
Scoring by quarters: 13-15, 33-30, 58-46, 81-72.
