By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE Ayuyus snapped their two-game losing streak, while the Lady Ayuyus continued their winning run, as Kagman High School teams downed Mt. Carmel School last Wednesday in the MISA High School Basketball League at the Marianas High School Gym.
The Ayuyus notched a 79-63 win over the Knights to improve to a 2-2 record and duplicate their 72-68 victory in the first outing.
As in their first meeting, in which Kagman had to stop MCS’s fourth-quarter rally to eke out a four-point win, the Ayuyus needed to work hard in the final canto to thwart the Knights.
Kagman was leading by only a deuce at the end of the third quarter, 50-48, but outscored the Knights in the fourth, 29-15, to notched a 16-point win.
The trio of Jon Ada , Josh Moses and Manny Matagolai led the Ayuyus’scoring spree in the final period drilling 25 of their team’s total output.
Moses fired nine points in the fourth quarter, while Ada and Moses added eight apiece.
The Ayuyus had five players scoring in double figures for their balanced offense. Matagolai finished with 17, Moses had 16, Ada chipped in 14 and Steve Tellei and Keoni Chairiton contributed 13 and 11 markers, respectively.
Steve Kim paced Mt. Carmel with 19 points, but this was not enough to prevent the Knights from absorbing their fourth loss in as many games.
Last Wednesday’s game could have gone the Knight’s way had they performed better from the free throw line.
Mt. Carmel was given 33 charities and connected on only 18. The Ayuyus were 5-of-12 from the 15-foot line.
In the first game, the Lady Ayuyus cruised to their fourth win in a row and second against the Lady Knights after a 45-37 triumph.
This time, it was Tricia Falig who topscored for the Lady Ayuyus with 18 points. Former CNMI National Team member Chelsea Ruluked was the topscorer in Kagman’s first three wins.
Falig outscored Ruluked, who had 17 markers, as the former waxed hot from downtown hitting five triples.
Both teams started slow with the Lady Ayuyus leading by only a point at the end of the first quarter, 9-8. But when Falig started finding her marks in the second quarter, things began to work well for the Ayuyus.
Falig had two triples in the second quarter and Kagman ended the first half with a 22-15 lead.
Falig added two more 3-pointers in the third, while Ruluked chipped in six markers to increase the lead to 11, 37-26, entering the final period.
The Lady Knights outscored the Lady Ayuyus for the first time in the fourth quarter, 11-8, but Kagman’s 11-point lead in the third period was enough to preserve the victory.
Scores:
Girls
KHS 45—Falig 18, Ruluked 17, Repeki 5, Bennett 3, Igisaiar 2.
MCS 37—Lebria 12, Castro 6, Takai 6, Manalo 4, Calvo 3, Manglona 2, De Brum 1, Salas 1.
Quarterscores: 9-8, 22-15, 37-26, 45-37
Boys
KHS 79—Matagolai 17, Moses 16, Ada 14, Tellei 13, Chariton 11, Santos 3, Concepcion 3, Deleon Guerrero 2.
MCS 63—S. Kim 19, Barcinas 12, Aquino 10, T. Kim 10, Ro. Salas 9, Ri. Salas 2.
Quarterscores: 16-13, 34-30, 50-48, 79-63