Guam boys roll to fifth straight triumph in MBT

The Guam U17 national team faced its stiffest challenge yet it took on a very physical Tinian team yesterday, but remained perfect with a 74-53 victory as the boys 17-and-under Micronesian Basketball Tournament continued at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The U.S. territory had been blowing out the opposition in their previous four games an average of 69 points, including a 91-39 pasting of Saipan 1 team in the later game Tuesday night.

But Tinian coach Keith Nabors delivered on his promise to give the powerhouse team a run for its money and did so by bodying up on Guam’s athletic swingmen and packing up the paint to make it difficult for the U.S. territory’s big men to operate.

The ploy worked early as Tinian managed to keep abreast of the normally prolific Guam team and were down by just a deuce, 12-14.

Sammy Setik, however, put Tinian in its proper place come the second quarter. The whippet-quick guard scored 9 points, including a triple, to almost single-handedly tow Guam to a 43-20 lead at the break.

That 23-point spread will become 25 after the third quarter, as 6’3” center Michael Sakazaki finally asserted himself in the low blocks, pumping in eight markers.

With a 61-36 deficit, Nabors turned to Daruis Pettis and the hotshot delivered, firing 8 of his game-high 18 points in the payoff period.

Behind Pettis’ heroics, Tinian was able to trim Guam’s lead to below 20 points in several occasions before losing by 21.

In the end, Nabors and company got a measure of respect from the local crowd and probably even from their Guam counterparts for limiting the explosive team to a tourney low 74 points.

Sakazaki and Setik went on to lead Guam with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Tinian, which dropped to a 1-3 win-loss record was led by the aforementioned 18 markers of Pettis.

In other completed games yesterday, Palau hiked its record to 3-1 following an 80-50 rout of CNMI 2. The loss was the third in four games for the home team.

Saipan 1, meanwhile, scored its first win of the competition after blasting sister team Saipan 2, 60-40. Saipan 2 is winless in three outings.

On Tuesday night, CNMI 1 rebounded from its 66-108 loss to Guam earlier in the day with a 143-33 shellacking of Saipan 2. The win improved the islands’ de facto 17-and-under national team to 3-1.

Prior to the CNMI 1-Saipan 2 tiff, Guam wiped the floor clean of Saipan 1, 93-39.

In the girls tourney over at the Marianas High School Gymnasium, Guam trounced CNMI 2, 104-11, to remain perfect at 2-0.

Joylyn Pangilinan led the U.S. territory with 23 points, while Alina Bonto added 19. CNMI 2 was led by the 4 points of Danica Canedo.

In the later game, CNMI 1 kept pace with their archrivals following a 93-48 victory over Tinian.

As usual Kaylani Lebria paced five CNMI 1 players in double figures with 17, while Tinian was bannered by the 35 of high-scoring Regene Palacios.

Guam 74 – Sakazaki 14, Sammy Setik 13, Oledan 12, Merrill 11, Blas 7, Quichocho 7, Jose 4, Flores 4, Taitano 1, Sam Setik 1.

Tinian 53 – Pettis 18, Babauta 14, E. Borja 5, Cabrera 5, I. Borja 4, Sanchez 4, Maui 3.

Scoring by quarters: 14-12, 43-20, 61-36, 74-53.