Makos are 2004 Rotary champions

Makos hoisted the championship of the 2004 Saipan Rotary Club Summer Youth Basketball League after silencing Sixers I, 90-74, Friday night inside a jam-packed Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The Paul Magcalas-led team held the high-scoring Sixers I team scoreless in the last 5:07 of the ballgame to become the most unlikely champions of the 18-and-under league.

After former Garapan Roller Kevin Cequena stole off Magcalas and hit a layup to make it 81-74, the San Antonio squad hit the mother of all dry spells.

Sixers I even failed to take advantage of Magcalas hitting the bench, as Makos reserves went on a 9-0 windup that all but secured for them the championships of the 14th season of the Rotary.

Makos actually didn’t start the game on the right foot, as Sixers I quickly jumped into a 6-point lead before Magcalas and company settled down and stopped San Antonio’s fastbreak machine dead on its tracks.

Magcalas as always was the trigger for Makos’ attack. But this time, the former national player was not alone as big men Won Joo Jung, Christian Dela Cruz, Seth Hocking and even “little” brother Richard were all willing to step up.

Jung stayed back on defense and almost singe-handedly controlled Sixers I’s run-and-gun game. Dela Cruz, Hocking and Richard, meanwhile, wreaked havoc inside against the shorter Sixers I players.

Makos enjoyed as much as a 4-point lead, 36-32, in the first half before Sixers I made a big push to knot it all up at 41-all on a basket by Jack Lizama.

Several plays later, Sixers I grabbed the lead on a 3-pointer by Cequena. But Jung would counter with a 3-point play of his own and Quincy Johnson pulled up for a jumper to give Makos a 46-43 advantage at the break.

Sixers I came out charging at the start of the third but Makos just wouldn’t budge. While the boys of coach Ryan Nisperos wanted to win the ballgame on one single swoop, Makos remained methodical and stuck to coach Pol Magcalas’ game plan.

It was nip-and-tuck in the early goings of the second half with Makos going inside to Hocking and Richard and Jung occasionally getting away on the fastbreak.

For their part, Sixers I elected to shoot low percentage outside shots against Makos, and for a while, it was effective as Cequena and Bryan Flores uncorked from afar.

But Sixers I’s fortunes would change as soon as the 3-point well began to dry up, and without a defense to fall back on, the pennant champs became easy pickings for a Makos team that didn’t know the word quit.

Not even the memory of the team’s 98-94 overtime loss in the eliminations to the same team had any lingering effects for the Makos, as they simply overworked the Sixers I in the home stretch.

Hocking’s towering layup with 1:34 remaining gave Makos an 84-74 lead and the Sixers I’s dreams of an undefeated season went up in smoke.

Magcalas and Jung paced Makos title-clinching win with 23 points apiece. Hocking and Richard chipped in 17 and 12, while Dela Cruz was good for 8 points.

Cequena pumped in 19 points in the Sixers I loss. Julian Ranas added 17 with Flores and Rowell Aranda coming up with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

In the battle for third, Ol’Aces survived a late-game comeback by Sixers II to win 77-74. Steven Kim’s 20 and Leroy Kani’s 16 points paced Ol’Aces, while Manuel Ajoste had 15 markers in the loss.

First Game

Ol’Aces 77 – Kim 20, Kani 16, Deleon Guerrero 15, K. Ogumoro 12, Tarkong 4, D. Barcinas 4.

Sixers II 74 – Ajoste 15, Ja. Bahillo 14, Ferrer 10, Kintz 10, Palacios 10, Appelo 6, Eclevia 5, Je. Bahillo 2, Echon 2.

Scoring by halves: 50-38, 77-74.

Second Game

Makos 90 – P. Magcalas 23, Jung 23, Hocking 18, R. Magcalas 12, Dela Cruz 8, Johnson 4, Magday 2.

Sixers I 74 – Cequena 19, Ranas 17, B. Flores 14, Aranda 11, Echon 9, Encio 2, Lizama 2.

Scoring by halves: 46-43, 90-74.