Saipan Southern High School team members pose for a photo with the championship trophy along with PSS interscholastic and NMI Basketball Federation officers during the awards ceremony of the IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League SY 23-24 at the Ada gym on Saturday.
Saipan Southern High School’s Rosie Saralu pulls up for the jump shot over a Marianas High School defender during the girls high school division championship of the IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League SY 23-24 at the Ada gym on Saturday.
SAIPAN Southern High School bagged the girls high school division championship trophy of the IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League SY23-24 after edging Marianas High School at the Ada gym on Saturday.
SSHS entered the final round unscathed while MHS had one loss, which meant it had to beat the Manta Rays twice to win the title.
With their backs against the wall, the MHS Dolphins fought hard in game 1 and were led by Destiny Pangelinan who repeatedly slashed through defenders and finished at the rim. She scored 10 points in the first half to give her team the lead, 14-9.
In the second half SSHS’ Jahsmin Ramon used her height to her advantage to find the bottom of the net from inside the paint while teammates Teneasha Diaz and Yasmeen Younis added a bucket each to cut MHS’ lead.
But MHS remained afloat thanks to the sheer hustle of Pangelinan who maneuvered her way to the charity throw line, scoring eight of 12 free throw attempts to secure the win, hand SSHS their first loss, and force a second game.
Winner takes it all
In game two, SSHS turned it up a notch on both ends of the court. Their defense focused on shutting down Pangelinan, which forced MHS’ Valerie Estella to take matters into her own hands while SSHS’ Younis and Rosie Saralu took over the highlight reel with a combined 10 points to give their team the lead in the first half, 12-4.
In the second half MHS started to make a comeback. Slowly but surely, Pangelinan and Jenny Lin led their team back within reach, but Younis and Lency Sagarino continued to deliver on offense to keep SSHS afloat.
MHS finally crept their way to a one-possession game, but SSHS’ Saralu and Sagarino stepped up with late-game buckets to secure the win by a point, 28-27, and claim the championship.
Challenges
SSHS team captain Yasmeen Younis faced challenges throughout the two-game title series after she sustained an injury early in game 1, but she eventually recovered to aid her team.
“It’s honestly been a goal since I started joining this team. We built a really strong bond together and we were able to take it home,” she said, referring to the championship.
After she was injured and forced to sit down, she said “there were a lot of negative thoughts, but my coach really helped me push through. I sprained [my ankle] while taking a shot and my mind was going everywhere, like, ‘How am I going to do this? How am I going to help my team?’ But I thought about them and since I’m their team captain I told myself I can make it for them.”
Head coach Mike Mercado said their first loss was due to Yasmeen and Angel [Calage] having some setbacks. “I told them to shift their energy to positivity and they followed my advice,” he added.
“Destiny [of MHS] is a very amazing player; I will always be a fan. But if you make a game plan and stick to it, anything is possible.”
