Knights win last regular season game

Mt. Carmel School 1’s Aven Evangelista is left open for a long shot during their game against Saipan International School in the CCOPSA caging yesterday at the Koblerville Gymnasium. (Roby N. Pamintuan)

Mount Carmel School 1 closed out its regular season campaign in the 2018-2019 Commonwealth Coalition of Private Schools Association Varsity Basketball League with a victory over Saipan International School, 53-40, yesterday at the Koblerville Gymnasium.

The Geckos were within just 2 points behind the Knights at the end of the third quarter, 35-37, before the latter put their foot on the pedal in the fourth canto to leave SIS in the dust.

Chioni Dela Cruz swished two treys and made a couple of layups to score 10 points in the payoff canto and hand MCS 1 the double-digit winning margin. Aven Evangelista and Matthew Richardson also contributed in the Knights’ fourth-quarter assault with the former starting the decisive period with a shot from beyond the arc and the latter making a mid-range jumper and a free throw to round out the Knights’ 16-point performance.

Before saving their best for last, things looked bleak for the Knights as they mustered just 6 points and were blindsided by the Geckos’ 13-point output. Jason Sablan scored SIS’ first 5 points, while A.J. Hudkins followed up with two baskets from close range. Then with the clock ticking, Kuu Nishimura pulled up from deep for the buzzer-beating trey that gave the Geckos the short-lived 7 point cushion.

After the slow start, MCS pumped out 22 points in the second period and held its opponents to just 7 markers to grab the upper hand at halftime, 28-20. Richardson accounted for 13 of his team’s production in the second frame, while Dela Cruz, Angelo Factor, and Minsu Park also hit baskets to turn the tables on the reeling Geckos.

At the resumption of the game, the Geckos fought back with Hudkins churning out 7 and Nishimura anchoring their defense to set up his teammates for easy baskets. SIS rallied to produce 15 points against the Knights’ 9 and stay afloat as the Geckos were down by only a deuce. However, that was the closest that SIS could get, as Dela Cruz took over in the final canto.

The Knights finished the double-round robin regular season with a 11-3 card for second place in the team standings, while SIS fell to a 4-5 slate with three games left in its schedule. The Geckos will play Grace Christian Academy today, while their last two matches are set for Monday and Tuesday.

Also on Monday, the playoffs for the girls division will start with GCA battling Agape Christian School and the winner advancing to the finals against the top-ranked MCS on March 29.

MCS 1 53 —Richardson 21, Dela Cruz 15, Evangelista 6, Factor 5, Ong 2, Kiser 2, Park 2.
SIS 1 40—Hudkins 16, J.P. Sablan 9, Nishimura 9, Lee 4, Jason Sablan 2.
Scoring by quarters: 6-13, 28-20, 37-35, 53-40.