McDonald’s wins second straight

McDonald’s won its second straight while Saipan Ice & Water Co. rallied in the fourth quarter to post its first victory as action in the ongoing 6th Mobil Oil Marianas Co-ed Invitational Basketball League continued Thursday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

McDonald’s tied Aqua Resort Club atop the team standings after fighting back to beat Hyatt Regency Saipan, 75-68.

It was a tough journey for McDonald’s, though, as they had to recover from a slow start that resulted in the team trailing by double figures after just one period. Shane Villanueva and cage belle Fukuda Minori combined for 11 points and helped Hyatt streak to a 14-point cushion after 10- minutes of play, 23-9.

The offensive struggle came to an end for McDonald’s in the second quarter as the team outscored their opponents by 10 points, 23-13, with Badong Camacho pumping in eight points. At the break, McDonald’s trailed only by four points, 32-36.

Minori returned to action in the third and heated up for another 10 points, but her effort was not enough to prevent McDonald’s from inching closer and cutting the deficit to three points, 48-51, with one quarter left in regulation.

It was then that Bogs Dayrit and Camacho took over, with Dayrit scoring a triple and seven free throws and Camacho adding three more baskets and two shots from the charity line to push McDonald’s to victory.

Dayrit led McDonald’s with 20 points, while Camacho and Gil Gapor added 17 and 15 points.

Minori led Hyatt with 15 points while Dexter Dillay and Hilo Yamamoto contributed 11 points apiece. Villanueva also chipped in 10 points.

Earlier, Saipan Ice evened its record at 1-1 after rallying in the fourth quarter to beat Commonwealth Ports Authority, 78-71.

The two teams were evenly matched in the opening half, with CPA taking a 21-18 lead after the first quarter and Saipan Ice jumping ahead right before the break, 38-36.

CPA then got a big boost from National cage belle Emy Oiterong, who went off for 12 points to push CPA to a 60-54 advantage.

The lead evaporated into thin air in the fourth as Bernard Montano, Bernard Samson, and Richard Pambid each had six points to pull Saipan Ice over the hill.

Montano led Saipan Ice with 20 points while Pambid and Samson finished with 16 and 14 points. Forward Ferdie Dela Torre also supported them with 10 points.

Oiterong topscored for CPA with 16 points, while Jawn Joyner and Charlie Sablan contributed 14 and 10 points.

First Game

Saipan Ice 78 – Montano 20, Pambid 16, Samson 14, Dela Torre 10, Tabora 7, Moncrief 6, Lopez 5.

CPA 71 – Oiterong 16, Joyner 14, P. Camacho 12, Sablan 10, Torres 5, Ryes 4, J. Camacho 4, Mizutani 2, Sanchez 2.

Scoring by quarters: 18-21, 38-36, 54-60, 78-71.

Second Game

McDonald’s 75 – Dayrit 20, Camacho 17, Gapor 15, Letud 9, Tamondong 6, Barrios 4, M. Achas 2.

Hyatt 68 – Fukuda 15, Dillay 11, yamamoto 11, Villanueva 10, Calub 6, Vargas 4, Kaimori 3, Umali 2, Ruelo 2, Casaclang 2, Eina 2.

Scoring by quarters: 9-23, 32-36, 48-51, 75-68.