THE boys high school division of the IT&E Interscholastic Basketball League had an explosive opening match that ended with Darren Pangelinan draining the game-winning shot to hand the Kagman High School varsity team the win over Saipan Southern High School 29-28 Friday at the Marianas High School gym.
The game could have went either way as both teams fought hard from start to finish.
The SSHS Manta Rays started strong with Frankie Satur sinking a total of seven points from inside the paint and the free-throw line.
The KHS Ayuyus finally broke the silence midway through the first 12-minute half as they started to play more aggressively. Pangelinan opened with a put-back off a defensive rebound followed by a triple courtesy of Nobet Hocog to cut the SSHS lead.
The momentum continued to build for KHS as Pangelinan added two points while fellow Ayuyus Garret Mariano and Alejandro Ortiz contributed to the cause and allowed Kagman to snatch the lead 13-11 by halftime.
In the second half, the SSHS Manta Rays sought to regain control with Satur remaining a huge threat from underneath the board while another Manta Ray, Eli Garcia, looked for options from behind the three-point line.
Although SSHS attacked with a variety of shot attempts, KHS took the action inside to draw a handful of fouls.
Toward the last few minutes of the game, SSHS managed to hold a two-point lead. However, in the last 10 seconds, KHS executed an amazing in-and-out play that found Pangelinan at the opposite arc of the three-point line where he knocked down the game-winning bucket. The Ayuyus won, 29-28.
SIS vs Mount Carmel JV
Saipan International School was the other victor on Friday after demolishing Mount Carmel School Junior Varsity 31-6.
The SIS Geckos established control right from the start after Charlie McDonald caught fire, scoring six of his team’s 18 points in the first half.
The MCS JV Knights could only score two points and despite adding two more in the second half, they could not stop the Geckos’ offensive juggernaut.
Geckos Ivan Li and Kuu Nishimura joined the SIS scoring spree to secure the easy win and put the Knights out of their misery.
Kagman High School’s Darren Pangelinan extends for the finish during the game against Saipan Southern High School at the MHS gym on Friday.
Saipan International School’s Tony Liang pulls up for the open shot during the game against Mount Carmel School JV, Friday, at the MHS gym.
