Hopwood Middle School’s Davin Mansilungan takes the fadeaway jumper over a Mount Carmel School defender during a boys middle school division game of the PSS-IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League at the Marianas High School gym on Wednesday.
Francisco M. Sablan Middle School’s Worthy Defang attempts to dribble past a Tanapag Middle School defender during a boys middle school division game of the PSS-IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League at the Marianas High School gym on Wednesday.
HOPWOOD and Francisco M. Sablan middle schools are headed to the boys middle school division championship round of the PSS-IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League as the top two seeds after earning their 6th and 7th wins, respectively, at the Marianas High School gym on Wednesday.
Hopwood collected its 6th win by gunning down Mount Carmel School, 39-21.
Ball movement was the key focus for HMS as they utilized every player on the court to create scoring opportunities. K-Tu Louis, the team’s go-to option, stayed consistent throughout the first half, leading the offense with eight points after just five minutes of play.
MCS relied on the skills of James Matsumoto Jr., who carried his team with 15 points. But he alone could not take on an entire team as the other HMS players — Zuriel Abejo, Leon Galarse and Simion Tagabuel — went on a scoring spree for a nine-point spread by halftime, 24-15.
HMS then shut down Matsumoto, forcing MCS’ Joey Mostales and Landon Igisomar to step up.
MCS, however, lacked the offensive firepower needed to keep up with HMS. Defensively, MCS was able to withstand some of HMS’ offensive plays, but Hopwood managed to break through with Steven Tudela contributing to their run en route to victory, 39-21.
No. 1
Francisco M. Sablan Middle School remains the no. 1 team with a clean 7-0 record after dominating Tanapag Middle School, 48-16.
FMS’ team chemistry and overwhelming defensive presence kept them in control throughout the game.
Which each defensive stop, FMS capitalized on the other end with transition plays led by Kelvin John in the first five minutes of the first half. He scored 8 points while Logan Daniel took over the next five minutes with 9 points to give their team a double-digit advantage, 27-8.
While TMS struggled to get the ball past half court, the rest of the FMS players — Worth Defang, Dezmon Camacho, and Leon Duenas — turned defense into offense with back-to-back finishes at the rim for a blowout victory, 48-16.
