Eight teams vie for holiday hoops title

The IVYBL Christmas Tournament got underway yesterday with eight teams making a push for the title at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Competing in Pool A are San Antonio I, Garapan Rollers II, Matansa Sparks, and Team International, while Pool B has the G-Rollers I, Chalan Kanoa Saints, Tinian, and San Antonio II.

Getting the honor of being the first team to break into the win column was San Antonio, which had its way against the G-Rollers II for a lopsided 62-24 victory.

San Antonio dominated from the start and quickly built a double-digit lead. Cagebelle Roxanne Duenas showed she can hang with the boys as she and Ian Benavente combined for eight points as San Antonio closed the first quarter up by 10 points, 12-2.

The G-Rollers II finally got rolling in the second period and put up a better fight, but they weren’t able to close in as the San Antonio cagers continued their solid play to stretch their lead to 16 points by the break, 26-10.

San Antonio then went berserk as the team exploded for 24 points in the third quarter, while limiting their opponents to just eight points. Ray Santos scored eight points, while Benavente and Novo Papito each had two baskets to spearhead San Antonio to a comfortable 50-18 lead heading into the final quarter.

It was cruise control from there as the team closed with the 38-point victory margin.

Santos and Duenas led San Antonio with 14 and 11 points, while Dino Palacios and Mike Bondok paced G-Rollers II with six points apiece.

The G-Rollers I squad came back strong for their club as they pulled the right strings and defeated a determined Saints team, 50-43.

In the third game, Team International had a tough start but came through with a strong second half to beat the Sparks, 42-29.

Another lopsided result followed as Tinian shrugged off their dizzying ferryboat trip to Saipan to thrash San Antonio II, 66-11.

Tinian dominated and held San Antonio scoreless in the first quarter, 15-0.

Brandon Cruz, who had six points in the opening period, got another six in the second stanza and helped Tinian balloon their lead to 23 points, 27-4.

The only question left was by how much Tinian would win, and all that was answered at the sound of the final buzzer with Tinian ahead by 55 points.

Cruz led Tinian with a game-high 18 points, while Aran Evangelista and Kim King added 13 and 10 points.

The G-Rollers II, meanwhile, came back in strong in their second game of the day and edged Team International, 36-32.

The two teams matched each other well in the opening half as the G-Rollers led by four points after one period, 14-10, and by just a field goal at the break, 16-14.

The G-Rollers caught fire in the third quarter and began to pull away as Jason Palacios worked for six points to give his team a 30-22 lead, but International refused to throw in the towel and put up a furious charge in the final minutes, only to fall a bit short in the end.

Palacios led the G-Rollers with 16 points, while James Sakamoto had the same production for International.

Three other games were played yesterday, however, results were still not available as of press time.

The tournament continues today with four elimination games in the morning. The playoffs begin at 2:30pm, with the top team in Pool A battling the No. 2 team of Pool B. The Pool B top gun will then take the No. 2 seed from Pool A.

The tournament comes to a close with the consolation and championship games tomorrow.

An awards banquet sponsored by Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela will immediately follow.

The team that wins the title will not only take home a trophy and a year’s worth of bragging rights, but will also pocket $250. Second place will receive $200, third place $150, and fourth place $100. The team that wins the Sportsmanship Award will receive $75, while the most valuable player will take home $50.

For more information about the IVYBL Christmas Tournament, contact Tenorio or Mettao at 664-2503.