Manta Rays thwart Knights

Saipan Southern High School?s Jun Javier goes up for a one-hander against Mount Carmel School?s Min Su Kim, right, and Soon Hyung Kwon, partly hidden, during the fourth quarter of their game in the MISO varsity caging last Monday at the Marianas High School Gymnasium. (PHOTO BY ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

Saipan Southern High School withstood Mount Carmel School’s fourth-quarter rally to earn a 62-54 victory in the varsity game in the 2013-2014 Marianas Interscholastic Sports Organization Boys Basketball League last Monday night at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

Jun Javier canned a momentum-halting basket in the paint under the two-minute mark of match to give the Manta Rays their fifth win in eight games, while handing the Knights their eighth loss in as many matches. The victory was also the second for Southern against the same team, as the former eked out a 72-66 triumph in the first round.

Javier’s basket, a one-hander banked shot off a drop pass from Daniel Camacho, came after the Knights moved within six, 54-60, 2:16 left in the match. Mount Carmel rallied from a 15-point deficit, 60-45, with Soon Hyung Kwon starting the recovery with a layup, William Camacho drilling three straight baskets, and Enrico Del Rosario capping the 9-0 surge with his two free throws.

Del Rosario had a chance to inch Mt. Carmel closer after Southern muffed another offensive set on the other end, but the Knights forward faltered a point-blanked shot. The Manta Rays then regained possession with Daniel Camacho cutting to the lane and squaring off for a short jumper, but decided an extra pass at the last minute to Javier under the basket. The Rays burly centered drilled the crucial shot against Knights frontliners Kwon and Min Su Kim , upping the team’s lead to 8, 1:32 left on the clock.

Southern was never threatened after that, as Mt. Carmel missed its last four shots, while the former ran down the time.

Javier was one of the four Southern players to finish in twin digits with his 11 points. Shooter Harley Warren led the Rays with his 15 markers, which were all made from downtown, while Emerson Feria and James Kintaro added 14 and 10, respectively.

William Camacho led all scorers with his 19, while Kwon chipped in 11. Jared Sablan also had double figures for the Knights, but he dropped all his 10 points in the first quarter and failed to complete the game as he headed to a baseball match.

In the junior varsity game, Southern got even with Saipan International School after whipping the Geckos in their second outing, 51-33.

A third-quarter push allowed the Rays to avenge their 39-44 loss to SIS in the first round. Ahead by only three at halftime, 22-19, Southern more than doubled up the Geckos in the third period with a 17-6 scoring to take a 39-25 advantage at the end of that canto. Art Borromeo unloaded two triples, while Ryan Esmundo also scored 6 markers to lift the Rays to a double-digit margin, entering the final frame.

Southern went on to keep its safe distance in the fourth quarter, as SIS just traded baskets with the Rays and was still outscored, 12-8.

JUNIOR VARSITY
SSHS 51 – Esmundo 16, Espinosa 11, Anderson 6, Borromeo 6, Bondoc 4, Deleon Guerrero 4, Cruz 2, Igrobay 2.
SIS 33 – Johnson 11, C. Cepeda 9, A. Cepeda 6, H. Kim 3, Ramsey 2, Y. Kim 1.
Scoring by quarters: 10-8, 22-19, 39-25, 51-33.

VARSITY
SSHS 62 – Warren 15, Feria 14, Javier 11, Kintaro 10, Camacho 8, Reyes 2.
MCS 54 – Camacho 19, Kwon 11, Sablan 10, Kim 6, Amog 4, Del Rosario 2.
Scoring by quarters: 23-12, 36-20, 52-34, 62-54.