Kagman vs Southern in rubbermatch

Kagman High School’s Juan Quitugua drives against a Saipan Southern High School defender during the second quarter of Game 1 of their title duel in the PSS caging last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Kagman High School escaped with a 51-50 victory over Saipan Southern High School in Game 1 of their title duel in the 2016 Public School System Basketball Tournament to force a rubbermatch last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The Ayuyus overhauled a 6-point deficit in the last two minutes and extended the finals after drawing a split free throw from Aaron Ogumoro and making two defense stops in the closing seconds of Game 1.

Southern, which had a twice-to-beat advantage in the finals after sweeping its first three games in the winner’s bracket, posted its biggest lead in Game 1, 49-43, after Roberto Paragados completed a 3-point play.

Kagman sued for time after that and when the game resumed, it began working its way back into the match with Jeff Castro starting the rally after knocking in a fastbreak layup. He went for another fastbreak basket after a missed offensive set from Southern, but overshot his mark. Fortunately, Juan Quitugua was there for the trailer and the put-back to move the Ayuyus within 2, 47-49, 46.8 seconds left on the clock.

Another botched attempt from Southern gave the ball back to Kagman, which found a way to feed big man Dean Blake in the paint against the tight defense of the Manta Rays and the Ayuyus center nailed the equalizer, 49-all, 33.2 seconds remaining in the game.

Greg Sablan tried to return the favor to Blake when he drove baseline, but he was too deep under the basket and faltered. There was a battle for the loose ball after yet another miss from Southern and Blake won. He was also fouled by N-Nes Siech, who reached in trying to steal the possession. Blake canned he first free throw, but muffed the second one, giving Kagman a shaky lead, 17.5 left in Game 1.

After Blake’s miss, Southern had a chance to regain the upper hand when Coby Santos sprinted to their frontcourt and unloaded a fastbreak shot. However, his attempt was too strong. Santos then got the rebound and handed the ball to Jun Alipio, who was fouled by Blake. Alipio had a split, drilling his second charity to force the deadlock, 8.9 ticks to go in the match.

After Alipio hit his second charity, Kagman quickly inbounded the ball and Ogumoro attacked the defense of Siech, who fell on the floor and had a double whammy as he was charged with a blocking foul. Ogumoro, who was scoreless before he trooped to the foul line for the important free throws, drilled his first charity and muffed the second one.

After Ogumoro’s miss, Southern was pressed to hurry down to its frontcourt and Alipio, with the clock ticking, attempted a mid-range jumper from the left baseline, but was blocked by Joey Cruz. The ball went out and the Manta Rays were left with 0.5 of a second to pull up for a Hail Mary. Kagman guarded the paint well in the dying seconds of the match, forcing Alipio to throw the ball out to Paragados, but the lob was intercepted by Quitugua and time expired.

With Kagman eking out the closing win, the Ayuyus were scheduled to challenge the Manta Rays anew 15 minutes after Game 1 concluded last Saturday. Results of the deciding Game 2 will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Tuesday edition.

Game 1
KHS 51— Blake 16, Castro 16, Quitugua 12, Cruz 4, Reyes 2, Ogumoro 1.

SSHS 50 — Alipio 13, Sablan 12, Santos 6, Cobacha 6, Paragados 5, Kapileo 4, Siech 4.

Scoring by quarters: 14-13, 31-28, 38-38, 51-50.