New Chang Ming Market hoists open crown

New Chang Ming Market completed a comeback for the ages to beat Martech-Ol’Aces, 82-77, in the winner-take-all championship of the open division of the 2nd Annual Saipan Centennial Lions Basketball League last Tuesday night at the Koblerville Basketball Court.

Down by 9 points, 67-58, entering the fourth and final quarter, New Chang Ming strung together 6 straight points starting with a Keith Santos triple while being fouled.

He would miss the free throw but New Chang Ming would get the rebound and Shane Deleon Guerrero made it a 5-point swing when he drove in for a layup, 67-63, with 9:50 left in the ballgame.

After a fruitless possession by Ol’Aces, Santos was fouled by Preston Basa and split his charities to make it just a 3-point game, 67-64.

Center Kelvin Fitial would get hit on the next play but missed both charities, but Ol’Aces got one back when New Chang Ming coach Dennis Cortez was assessed a technical. Basa was all twine from the 15-foot line to make it a 4-point lead for Ol’Aces.

Alex Standish was fouled on the other end and made 1 out of 2 and after yet another miss by Ol’Aces, Jack Aranda would stick a 3-pointer to tie it all up at 68-all at the 7:30 mark of the match.

Then with 5:52 left, Finals MVP Sidney Quan gave New Chang Ming its first taste of the lead at 70-68 following a nifty spin move and layup.

New Chang Ming would lose point guard Jeff Castro in the next possession when he picked up his fifth foul. He compounded matters when he didn’t leave the court immediately and another technical foul was whistled on the team.

It was 70-69 when Basa again canned the technical free throw, but Quan once more came to the rescue with another timely basket to make it a 3-point New Chang Ming lead, 72-69, with only five minutes to go.

Ol’Aces would cough it up in the next play and Deleon Guerrero fed Standish for an under goal stab to make it 74-69 with a four minutes and change left.

Douglas “Spyder” Schmidt finally broke Ol’Aces’ long silence when he scored on a corner triple to cut their deficit to 74-72.

Deleon Guerrero retaliated with another crucial bucket on the other end before Schmidt made a free throw on a foul by Standish to make it 76-73 with 3:09 ticks remaining.

Following a timeout by Cortez, Quan again rose to the occasion when he hit a 16-footer with 1:30 left on the clock, which was reminiscent of his game-winning jumper against Puerto Rico Bento earlier in the playoffs.

Schmidt answered with another 3-pointer 10 seconds later to make it a 2-point game, 78-76, but Deleon Guerrero went perfect from the line with 1:01 left to peg the score at 80-76.

Quan’s two splits from the free throw line and Schmidt’s lone free throw then ended the scoring, as New Chang Ming completed the mother of all comebacks to win the open division diadem.

It was an improbable win, to say the least, for New Chang Ming as Ol’Aces started the game like a house on fire and led 26-10 after the first quarter thanks to 6 points apiece from Schmidt and Basa.

They somewhat stabilized things at the start of the second quarter with Santos and Deleon Guerrero finally finding their rhythm on offense and entered halftime staring at only a 12-point deficit, 36-48.

Aranda and Rodel Pastrana then joined Deleon Guerrero in carrying the offense for New Chang Ming at the start of the second half, as they combined for 13 of the team’s 21 points to cut Ol’Aces’ advantage to single digits, 67-58, going into the fourth and final quarter.

In the fourth, Cortez then employed Quan to harass Ol’Aces’ best scorers Schmidt and Basa and while the former still got off his 8 points, Quan limited Basa to just two early free throws.

Deleon Guerrero led New Chang Ming with 17 points, while Quan and Aranda added 11 points apiece. Schmidt had a game-high 30 points, while Basa still finished with 21 points, including four hits from the land of plenty.
Cortez lauded his team for rallying to snatch the championship. He said New Chang Ming definitely started the game with championship jitters as they were obviously overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation and the crowd of over 200 in attendance.

He said the win was a team effort not only on the court, but also on the bench as everyone in the coaching staff, including the players, helped in strategizing their second-half response against Ol’Aces.

“After the first half, I told them ‘the game is still long but this is it! We have to start playing well beginning in the third’ and they did it!”
Cortez then thanked Saipan Centennial Lions Club and organizers of the 2nd Annual Saipan Centennial Lions Basketball League, led by commissioner Sonny Ebuen, for running another successful league. He also extended his gratitude to their supporters who cheered for them all throughout the season, including the playoffs and the championship game.

“Lastly, I like to congratulate Ol’Aces for a great finals game. It just so happened our team got the breaks in the end and our players really showed their true heart!” he said.

New Chang Ming Market 82 – Deleon Guerrero  17, Quan 11, Aranda 11, Castro 10, Santos 9, Standish 7, Camacho 6, Pastrana 6, Flores 5.
Martech-Ol’Aces 77 – Schmidt 30, Basa 21, Brungard 12, Fitial 6, Lizama 6, Kabiriel 2.
Scoring by quarters: 10-26, 36-48, 58-67, 82-77.