By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

GRACE Christian Academy foiled Saipan International School’s bid for an unprecedented fourth straight championship in the middle school division of the Coalition of Private School girls’ basketball tournament after notching a 29-24 win in the finals last Friday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gym.
The Lady Eagles held the erstwhile champion Lady Geckos scoreless in the second quarter and stood their ground against an SIS rally in the fourth canto to rule this year’s tournament.
GCA placed third last year, while the Geckos scored a 3-peat after beating Mt. Carmel in the finals.
Liamwar Rangamar paced the Lady Eagles title win firing 17 points.
She drilled eight of her total points in the first quarter, which ended with the Eagles in front, 12-4.
With only Zoe Jewell scoring for the Lady Geckos, the Lady Eagles kept the driver’s seat in the first half, 17-4, and were still comfortably ahead by 15, 23-8, an the end of the third canto, until SIS started to recover in the final quarter.
Jewell continued to lead SIS and as she got a little help from Shane Jones and Jellian Majors, the Lady Geckos cut GCA’s 15-point lead to three 22-25 with just over a minute left on the clock.
But the As Lito-based school ran out of time failing to complete a comeback, as Rangamar drilled two more baskets in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Jewell led SIS’ losing cause with 16 points.
In the boys’ division, Mt. Carmel School claimed the title that eluded them last year after clobbering Marianas Baptist Academy in the winner-take-all finals, 50-16.
The Knights lost to the Eagles in last year’s championship match.
Jake Deleon Guerrero scored 20 points for the unstoppable Knights, who controlled the game from the opening until the final buzzer.
Sam Yeol and Joseph Yoon added 13 and eight points, respectively.
The game started close with MCS leading by only three at the end of the first quarter, 8-5.
But the Knights started pulling away in the second period with Deleon Guerrero joining forces with Yoon. Deleon Guerrero drilled six points, while Yoon had five as MCS outscored the Stormz, 16-5, to take a 21-10 halftime advantage.
The Stormz never recovered from thereon as Yeol, who had only two points in the first half, found his marks in the second half. He connected on easy layups and a couple off followup shots, as he defeated the much smaller MBA players in rebound plays.
Scores:
Girls:
GCA 29—Rangamar 17, Halaby 6, Cabiga 2, Molina 2, Marasigan 2.
SIS 24—Jewell 16, Jones 4, Park 2, Majors 2.
Quarterscores: 12-4, 17-4, 23-8, 29-24
Boys:
MCS 50—Deleon Guerrero 20, Yeol 13, Yoon 8, Roberto 4, Sang Min 3, Jung 2.
MBA 16—Samson 10, Coelteo 4, Chan 2.
Quarterscores: 8-5, 21-10, 33-12, 50-16