Saints rally, stun G-II in down the wire bout

The Chalan Kanoa Saints refused to throw in the towel, worked relentlessly in the second half of Wednesday’s Saipan Rotary Summer Youth Basketball League bout against Garapan Rollers II, and answered the prayers of their fans as they managed to nail clutch shots down the stretch to pull off a nail-biting 76-75 victory at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The Saints were down by 10 points before staging a comeback run that ended with Ricardo San Nicolas nailing consecutive baskets, his second being the difference maker.

G-II had a shot at regaining advantage or even tying the bout with two free throw attempts shortly after San Nicolas’ basket, but both charity attempts rimmed out, giving the Saints reason to celebrate.

G-II had control of the tightly fought bout in the early goings as Don Teregeyo and Allan Moses paced a balanced scoring attack with eight points apiece to help their team get off to a 35-30 advantage after 20 minutes of play.

Keeping the Saints within striking distance was well-known scorer and veteran Luis Reyes, who drilled in 14 points, 10 of them coming from the charity line.

Things got better for the G-Rollers II, who began chipping away and eventually built a double-digit lead.

Little by little, though, the Saints worked their way back to contention as Reyes continued to be the driving force at the offensive end.

The lethal scorer managed to add another 20 points to his corner and was key in putting the Saints in a positive position for the stunning ending.

Down 74-75 with time running down, San Nicolas managed to deflect a pass, race ahead of the G-II cagers down court, and went airborne for an open court lay up that gave the Saints’ fans something to cheer about.

Reyes, who entered the game as the No. 2 scorer in the league, finished with a game-high 34 points while brother L.J. supported with 11 points. San Nicolas ended up with eight points, all coming in the second half.

Moses paced the G-Rollers II with 19 points while Arvin Avilla added 17 points. Teregeyo also contributed 11 points while Nate Mateo chipped in with 10 points.

On an interesting note, the game featured a whopping 66 fouls, 39 of them coming from the Saints corner. Three Chalan Kanoa players also fouled out, as did two players from the G-II.

Action continued yesterday evening with the Bwibwiis scheduled to battle Hoops in the opener and the San Antonio Sixers I expected to take on the G-Rollers II in the second game.

Saints 76—Luis Reyes 34, L.J. Reyes 11, San Nicolas 8, La. Reyes 6, Kim 6, Lizama 5, Luiz. Reyes 2, Magday 2, Nedlic 2.
G-Rollers II 75—Moses 19, Avilla 17, Teregeyo 11, N. Mateo 10, Basilla 7, Tellei 5, Sablan 4, D. Mateo 2.
Scoring by halves: 30-35, 76-75.
Referees: Arnold Mesa and Dado Vistal.