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Geckos leap to hoops win, 39-24
Saipan International School’s Aiden Camacho leaps for the shot against Mount Carmel School in their game in the IT&E Interscholastic Boys Middle School Basketball League 2022-2023 last Wednesday night at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.(LEIGH GASES)
The Saipan International School Geckos leaped to their sixth win in the IT&E Interscholastic Boys Middle School Basketball League 2022-2023 last Wednesday night at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.
They defeated Mount Carmel School, 39-24, in an evenly matched game early on, but the Geckos pulled out all the stops in the second half to bring home the win.
From the jump ball, it was clear it was going to be an aggressive game from both ends. They took turns at the basket, with each successful attempt met by cheers from the crowd. The score stayed close in the first half as neither team were unable to pull ahead by more than a point of two.
A terrific trio of Daniel Joab, Moshe Sikkel, and Theo Joab took turns scoring for the Geckos and ended the first half with a total of 13 points—with 2 points snuck in by Audiescott Iakopo.
The Geckos were up by only 2 points heading into the second half, 15-13, as the Knights’ James Matsumoto and Justin Mallari both had a visit to 3-point country to creep up to the Geckos.
As the second half began, it was still anybody’s game with the lead exchanging hands as fast as they could whizz back and forth down the court.
The passing game by the Knights allowed an evenly distributed amount of points to almost each player, but Leighton Tenorio stood out with two 3-pointers and gave the Geckos a run for their money.
When SIS’ Aiden Camacho found his shots that complemented Iakopo’s, they went bounding into the lead as the Knights’ offense began to falter.
In what began as a close game ended in a 10-point win for the Geckos.
In other results that day, Saipan Community School defeated Grace Christian Academy, 31-11; Francisco M. Sablan Middle School overpowered Agape Christian School, 41-25; and Hopwood Middle School defeated a fatigued SCS in a close 24-22 game.
In the junior varsity games, FMS defeated HMS, 28-25; and DMS won a lopsided 57-9 game.
SIS 34 – Moshe Sikkel 10, Iakopo 10, Camacho 8, T. Joab 5, D. Joab 4.
MCS 24 – Tenorio 6, Niric 4, Torres 4, Matsumoto, Mallari 3, Pineda 3, Tomokane 1.
Scoring by halves: 17-12, 38-30.
