By James Sablan
james@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
MOUNT Carmel School’s varsity team bagged their second win in the boys middle school division of the PSS-NMIBF Interscholastic Basketball League SY25-26 on Friday after outlasting Grace Christian Academy V, 20-18, at the Marianas High School gym.
The game started with MCS V establishing dominance in the opening half. Leading the offensive charge was Scott Muna, who opened the scoreboard with an and-one play and completed the free throw for three points. Bruce Song kept the momentum going with MCS’ second bucket of the game, and Muna followed with a three-pointer to widen the gap.
On the other end, GCA V fought back with sheer grit, using MCS’ defensive pressure to draw fouls and score from the charity line. However, they struggled to find their rhythm while MCS thrived, with Ryan Choi and Soli Maratita adding two and three points, respectively, to give their team an eight-point lead going into halftime, 13-5.
Despite the rough start, GCA V returned in the second half hungrier than ever. Suddenly playing with confidence, they began rallying with Tristan Torres draining back-to-back buckets, followed by a three-pointer from Reign Bello to quickly cut the deficit.
The back-and-forth battle continued through the last eight minutes, with GCA V closing in. Fortunately for MCS V, they stayed composed during crunch time, with Song and Choi sinking two clutch shots to keep their team ahead by one possession, 19-18.
With barely any time left, GCA V was forced to foul to stop the clock. After splitting the free throws, MCS V prevented them from attempting a final shot and escaped with the 20-18 victory.
Also victorious that day were Chacha Ocean View Middle School V, who defeated Saipan International School V, 37-21, and Hopwood Middle School JV, who beat COVMS JV, 25-18.
