Dai-Ichi topples PDI, Microl wins

Noe Okahira of Dai-Ichi Hotel Saipan Beach and Saori Asano of Pacific Development Inc. made sure the 5th Annual Mobil Oil Marianas Co-ed Invitational Basketball League returned with a bang Tuesday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Okahira and Asano got at it immediately after tip-off, going one-on-one and scoring successfully against one another.

But while Okahira’s 11 was only a point better than Asano’s first quarter output, she definitely got plenty more support from her teammates, as Dai-Ichi took the opening quarter with ease, 26-16.

With both ladies resting on the bench, Dai-Ichi used a more balanced attack in the second, as six different players got their names on the score column to help the hoteliers increase their lead, 44-29, at the break.

Okahira and Asano were back on the floor at the start of the third. But while Okahira picked up where she left off, Asano appeared tired as Okahira ran her ragged from one end of the court to the other.

In one play, Okahira dribbled from halfcourt only to have her drive stopped by Asano. But the little dynamo was not to be denied as she picked up the spheroid and swooshed a sweet jumper from about eight feet.

Okahira’s exploits seem to fire up her teammates as Dai-Ichi rattled off a cluster of points with the backcourt of Jun Alipala and Ferdie Tobias doing much of the damage on fastbreak layups.

Okahira scored 10 in the third, while Asano managed only four but more importantly Dai-Ichi opened up a 71-53 spread going into the fourth and final quarter.

Dai-Ichi never gave PDI a chance to rally in the payoff period, as the hoteliers opened strong with Ariel Jinang and Alipala taking turns burning the net.

Center Colin Thompson also used his 6’5” frame to terrorize the paint on defense and even contributed on offense, as he muscled in a couple of buckets to put the game away.

With Jinang and Alipala firing 13 points and Thomson taking care of the boards in the final 10 minutes, Dai-Ichi sealed the deal and won 94-75. Okahira led all scorers with 21 points, while Asano paced PDI with 14.

In the second game, Microl ran roughshod over the CNMI Women’s National Team to post a 94-68 victory.

The 33 points of swingman James Abuy led the way for Microl, while the 20 of Dena Ngirchongor paced the Nationals.

Scoreboard problems caused the Mobil league to postpone its scheduled doubleheader in Tuesday and Thursday last week. Both games Tuesday night made use of a portable scoreboard usually used in the IVYBL.

First Game

Dai-Ichi 94 – Okahira 21, Alipala 18, Esdrerlon 16, Jinang 14, Tobias 11, Lizo 8, Thompson 6.

DPI 75 – Asano 14, Diaz 13, Guinto 13, Quimbo 13, Acosta 10, Guerrero 8, Ballesteros 4.

Scoring by quarters: 26-16, 44-29, 71-53, 94-75.

Referees: Jess Pacheco and Noel Delos Santos.

Second Game

Microl 94 – Abuy 33, Pantola 22, Sablan 15, Lizama 14, De Guzman 4, Masga 4, Factor 2.

Nationals 68 – Ngirchongor 20, Camacho 18, Ruluked 16, V. Mobel 8, C. Mobel 6, Oiterong 2.

Scoring by quarters: 16-14, 50-28, 74-47, 94-68.