By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE Marianas High School Dolphins were a pitiful sight during their debut against Southern High School in the MISA High School Basketball League losing by 19 points to the Manta Rays.
A look of disappointment was seen in the faces of the Dolphins supporters, as they were expecting a better performance from a team which have players who are household names in youth basketball.
The Dolphins have Rotary veterans Joemary Tumaquip, Kevin Aldan, Ivan De Vero and Jayvan Tarkong and explosive rookie Jericho Cruz.
But the Dolphins were lost in their first game, committing one error after another, muffing easy shots, failing to call offensive plays, napping on defense and giving useless fouls.
They had 25 fouls against Southern’s 12 in their first meeting. The Dolphins scored only nine points in the first period, while the favored Rays had 23. MHS allowed Southern to score six triples and numerous layups.
After a humiliating loss to Southern, members of the MHS boys’ team were changed men, as they notched a string of victories.
They beat Mt. Carmel School twice, split their games against Kagman High School and finished the regular season seeded second in the playoffs behind the Manta Rays.
In their second game against Southern, the Dolphins gave the Manta Rays a good fight.
They even took a 12-point lead in the last four minutes of the match before collapsing and losing the game in overtime.
Another heart-breaking loss, but according to MHS coach Nick Gross, the second game against Southern helped his boys realize they can beat the Rays. This also motivated the Dolphins to prepare harder in the playoffs.
“But the key to our victory over Southern is our peaking. The players peak at the right time to beat a very good team like Southern. Before, we had difficulty doing our plays, but as the tournament progresses, the players were able to deliver what were expected from them,” said Gross, who shared the coaching chores with Mark McDonald.
Tarkong, who bled for his points against Southern in the first game, slowly found his marks. He and De Vero were a deadly combination for MHS.
Aldan had his share in the team’s offense with his 3-pointers, while Cruz also delivered, getting rebounds, giving out assists and scoring needed points. Gary Phillip, who usually came from the bench, contributed on offense in several occasions, but was more efficient on defense holding his lanky frame against much taller and heftier opponents.
But the biggest surprise in the finals was Tumaquip who was thrown out against Southern in their first game due to technical fouls.
The MHS point guard had so-so games in the regular season forcing Gross and McDonald to give Albert Brant and Zack Tudela the chance to orchestrate the Dolphins’ offense.
In the playoff game against Kagman, Tumaquip was silent anew, scoring only two points and playing limited minutes.
But he saved his best for last, as he had 23 points in MHS’s 99-78 title win over Southern last Friday.
Tumaquip set the tone for the Dolphins, as he challenged Southern’s inside defense driving to the basket on numerous occasions and getting a lot of success.
At the end of the first quarter, he had 10 points leading MHS to a 25-16 lead. It was the first time the Dolphins led against Southern in the opening quarter.
Tumaquip spent most of the second quarter on the bench due to fouls, but came back with a bang in the second half. He had seven points in the third period and took Southern guard Mike Eclevia to school.
At the end of the third, Tumaquip and the rest of the MHS crew were leading by 19, 73-54. Tumaquip finished what he had started adding six more points in the fourth quarter, as the Dolphins pulled an upset denying the Rays a back-to-back title.
”We’re not expecting to win this big because Southern is a tough team. But we had a good start and we were able to sustain it. We did the right things at the right time,” Gross said.