Marianas High School V’s Marl Balignasay takes the three-point shot during a game against Rota’s Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Jr./Sr. High School in the boys high school division of the IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League SY23-24 at the MHS gym on Saturday.
Rota’s Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Jr./Sr. High School’s Ryan Manglona gets fouled as he goes up for the finish during a game against Marianas High School in the boys high school division of the IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League SY23-24 at the MHS gym on Saturday.
THE varsity teams of Kagman and Marianas high schools remain unscathed in the boys high school division of the IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League SY23-24 after beating Rota’s Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Jr./Sr. High School in separate games at the MHS gym on Friday and Saturday.
In their game on Friday, KHS dominated Rota right from the start, and led the first half by 15 points, 31-16.
Rota picked up the pace during the second half, but Kagman continued to control the tempo and maintain a comfortable distance en route to their fifth straight win, 54-36.
Against MHS on Saturday, Rota also suffered defeat, 48-75.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, MHS’ offense was powered by Christian David and Sean Licayan with five and four points, respectively. Rota’s Ryan Manglona matched up with six points while Taytum Jacob took over the highlight reel by draining four triples. Unfortunately, it was still not enough to maintain control as support from MHS’ bench was enough to regain the lead before going into half time, 34-29.
In the second half, MHS established dominance thanks to their relentless pressure defense.
The man-to-man approach caused chaos for Rota as they were forced to commit a handful of turnovers and were held down to just 19 team points while MHS thrived by turning trash into gold. Marl Balignasay and Charlz Sanchez, along with Aiden Suba and Licayan, aided MHS’ offensive run, which led to a blowout victory, 75-48.
But Rota did not end their visit empty handed as they trounced Grace Christian Academy School, 44-29, and slipped past Agape Christian School, 40-38.
Another visiting team, Tinian Jr./Sr. High School, triumphed against Saipan International School, 37-25.
