And it worked.
The smoldering defense in the second half prevented the Celtics from taking over the lead and the San Antonio Sixers won in their debut last Tuesday in the Saipan Rotary Club Youth Basketball League at the Gilbert C. Ada Gym.
Matthew Duenas and Joe Ada made the best out of their team mates’ defensive play and strengthen their lead to a two-figure point.
Ernest Duenas completed fast breaks and put up an inside play with Benavente to keep pounding the Celtics halfway to the final buzzer.
Earlier in the first half, Ada and Ernest Duenas led the Sixers in setting the wide gap by scoring four and six respectively, and CJ Echon added five points.
Celtics’ James Webb and Mount Carmel Knights standout Tim Taguchi helped control the offense but were still down by five points in the end of the first half. So they tightened their own defense as well by putting men in the back court to foil the Sixers breakaways. Taguchi earned two more fouls for this but it gave him the opportunity to sizzle with 16 more points including two three-point shots.
Taguchi tallied a total of 22 points in the game. Webb chipped in 10 points to help the Celtics keep pace behind.
The Sixers however managed to hold their ground. With Matthew Duenas rampaging with 11 more points in the second half, the Sixers pulled away nailing the Celtics to 47 and never looked back to claim their 66-47 victory.
Scores:
Sixers 66 – J.Ada 14, M.Duenas 13, E.Duenas 12, CJ. Echon 9, I.Benavente 8, A.Agtarap 4, J.Rabauliman 2, R.Salas 2, H.Del Rosario 2.
Celtics 47 – T.Taguchi 22, J.Webb 10, S.Sablan 5, W.Westly 4, J.Pangelinan 2, F.Camacho 2, J.Villagomez 2.
