The Francisco M. Sablan Middle School team members pose with the boys middle school division championship trophy of the PSS-NMIBF IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League SY24-25 at the Marianas High School gym on Saturday.
FMS’ Jairus Pangilinan extends for the left-hand finish during the championship game against MCS in the boys middle school division of the PSS-NMIBF IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League SY24-25 at the Marianas High School gym on Saturday.
THE Francisco M. Sablan Middle School Napu Riders won the championship of the PSS-NMIBF IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League SY24-25 after manhandling the Mount Carmel School Knights, 54-7, at the Marianas High School gym on Saturday,
FMS had more skilled players who quickly established dominance within the first two minutes of the game.
Igniting FMS’ momentum was Logan Daniel, who drained the first two buckets. These were followed by another pair of shots courtesy of Jairus Pangilinan and one more by Andrei Tenorio as FMS seized the lead, 10-0.
MCS’ leading scorer, James Matsumoto, broke the silence in the next possession with a jump shot, but he sustained an injury and was forced to sit out for the remainder of the game.
With no other reliable scorer in MCS’ arsenal, FMS went to work as Leon Duenas and Kory Chaikhamian combined for seven points to expand their already dominating lead, 25-2.
In the second half, the rest of the FMS team joined in on the action. Kelvin John came off the bench and rekindled the flames with a three-pointer which then spread like wildfire as Greg Tenorio followed with another triple. For his part, Javiun Sablan Jr. delivered back-to-back buckets to further stretch the deficit.
Despite the huge point gap, MCS never showed signs of despair and were rewarded for their efforts with a three-pointer by Leighton Tenorio and a layup by David Camacho. However, their overall performance was marred by more misses than makes, which only handed FMS more opportunities to score on the other end and seal the deal, 54-7.
Before MCS made an appearance in the finals, they beat Hopwood Middle School in an upset victory, 26-17.
Undefeated
FMS won the title with an undefeated record.
“It’s because we’re prepared,” said coach Dexter Tenorio. “We had been preparing for the past six months.”
Tenorio said he is most grateful to the FSM teachers, parents, other supporters and the players themselves.
He said 12 of them will be promoted to high school, but FMS’ junior varsity team will take over the roster. He noted that the varsity players were also undefeated in the JV division this season.
“We prepared them as well,” Tenorio said.
