An MCS V player sets up the play as he dribbles against a defender during a boys middle school division game of the IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League at the MHS gym.
FRANCISCO M. Sablan Middle School and Agape Christian School bagged their eighth and seventh consecutive wins, respectively, in the boys middle school division of the IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League SY23-24 on Wednesday at the Marianas High School gym.
FMS collected their eighth win by defeating Chacha Oceanview Middle School, 39-27.
FMS’ main scorer, Leon Duenas, did what he does best — score. He led the opening half with eight points, and with the help of his teammates, they managed to seize the lead.
Chacha struggled to find the bottom of the net, but drew several fouls that resulted in six free throw shots that cut the lead 12-21.
In the second half, Chacha started to gain more confidence with Liam Wilson leading the offensive run to score nine points. However, FMS’ Duenas and his teammates maintained the safe distance en route to victory, 39-27.
ACS vs Hopwood
Also undefeated is Agape Christian School, which notched its seventh consecutive win against Hopwood Middle School in a nail-biting game, 19-18.
Led by Jequinn Lizama, who delivered seven points, Hopwood was dominant in the first half and held ACS to just six team points.
ACS, however, returned to the second half as if it were a different team. Defensively, they built a nearly impenetrable wall that allowed only one uncontested shot to slip through. On offense, ACS’ Shengshi (Daniel) Yang took over the spotlight with five crucial points to close the distance.
As time winded down, both teams were forced to foul to stop the clock. Both teams also drained three free throws each to tie the game, 18-18.
But Yang managed to draw one last foul and split his free-throw attempts, which was enough to give ACS the win, 19-18.
Winners, too
Joining the winner’s circle were Mount Carmel School V, which routed MCS JV, 51-8; and Dandan Middle School, which trounced Tanapag Middle School, 40-19.
