Dae Min Jeon and Moon Bin Hong scored 21 and 16 points, respectively and Grace Christian Academy trumped Mount Carmel School, 56-45 in Friday’s championship game at the TSL Sports Complex.
“It was a very tough game,” noted GCA’s head coach Edward Salas after the match. “I’ve always considered MCS to be a well-coached and disciplined team. They’re fast, but we started pressing hard and played really hard.”
Both teams tied 9-9 in the first quarter and 22-22 in the second. Hong and Angelo Salas paired the Knights’ misses with back-to-back layups.
Teammate Brandon Chargualaf hammered their only three-pointer in the third period. Salas and Swoo Kim piled eight points each by the final buzzer.
“I told my boys, ‘You don’t have tomorrow, this is it. You either win or you lose,’” said Salas. “We new coming in, it wasn’t easy. From the very beginning we had to play hard, and we did. We gave about 15 turnovers in the first half but we cut that down to about two or three in the second. That’s the difference right there.”
Mount Carmel’s Jae Yong Yoon squeezed in a jumper three minutes into the fourth quarter and Kim added five points. Cabaltica intercepted a pass from Kim and blasted two points to recover the Knights.
But it wasn’t enough.
The Eagles – keeping their guard up – pulled away, 48-37 with three minutes left on the clock. Jeon snuck around Ayden Gagaring for his last basket and totaled 14 points for the second half.
“We’re just so excited and the guys played really hard. I give credit to all my players, but of course the players from MCS were very good. We new coming in, it wasn’t easy. From the very beginning we had to play hard, and we did,” said Salas.
The Eagles had earlier defeated Marianas Baptist Academy, 65-51 in the semifinals. Mount Carmel School eliminated Saipan International School to earn their finals seat.
Team GCA also consisted of: Ballen Song, James Libut, Daniel Lee, Patrick Reyes, Jamin Dela Cruz, Karlo De Leon, Anthony Borja, Jonathan Salas, Eric Jones, and Noel Migwel.
With Chargualaf graduating this year, the rest of the team will return next season, according to Salas.
Scores:
Grace Christian Academy 56 – D. Jeon 21, M. Hong 16, A. Salas 8, S. Kim 8, B. Chargualaf 3
Mount Carmel School 45 – R. Cabaltica 22, M. Kim 13, J. Yoon 7, J. Griffin 2, M. Igitol 1
Quarterscores: 9-9, 22-22, 35-30, 56-45
Geckos clinch girls varsity title
Zoe Jewell and the rest of Saipan International School secured the girls varsity title with a 40-28 win over Mount Carmel School.
The Knights stumbled for possession early in the first quarter, falling eight points behind.
Jewell – landing five points in the opening eight minutes – went 2-for-3 in free throws during the first half. Amy Hudkins rallied with two jump shots and Amber Roberts scored two points for good measure.
Savana Manglona scored Mount Carmel’s only point by the third quarter, while the Geckos advanced by six.
Saipan International School led, 26-17 in the second quarter and 32-18 in the third. A full-out offense was too much for the Knights, who lost control of most rebounds by the second half.
Jewell totaled 16 points, Hudkins earned 10, Roberts piled eight, and Celine Camacho tallied six.
Michelle Kautz, landing four points in the final minutes, led the Knights with 13 points. Kaylani Lebria, Manglona, Carey Demapan, and Kimberly Sablan added a combined 15 points.
Both teams defeated Marianas Baptist Academy and Grace Christian Academy in Tuesday’s semifinals.
The Geckos also included: Svann Tured, KK Kim, Jeane Bracken, Se Hee Kim, and Danvy Kim.
Scores:
Saipan International School 40 – Z. Jewell 16, A. Hudkins 10, A. Roberts 8, C. Camacho 6
Mount Carmel School 28 – M. Kautz 13, K. Lebria 6, C. Demapan 4, S. Manglona 3, K. Sablan 2
Quarterscores: 15-7, 26-17, 32-18, 40-28
