Connect with us

Basketball

COUGARS KNOCK OUT WARRIORS

[sixcol_five_last ]

By Robert Balajadia

Warriors’ Joy Pangilinan flies in for a layup with Cougars’ Erin Wong defending the board. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Warriors’ Joy Pangilinan flies in for a layup with Cougars’ Erin Wong defending the board. (photo by Jesse Castro)

The Academy Cougars took care of business against the St. Paul Warriors by beating them 61-41 at the Cougar gym in the first round of the quarterfinals Tuesday night.

Cougars’ All-Island MVP Alina “ICE” Bonto took a quick exit into the game after scoring six of the Cougars nine early points. Bonto rolled an ankle while putting up a baseline floater while colliding with two Warrior players.

In her absence, All-Island first team guard Kali Benavente and All-Island second team guard Gemilie Ilao took over and held off what appeared to be a furious Warrior rally in the second half. Benavente finished with 16 points to lead the Cougars while Ilao finished with 14.

“Our coach always says that we are interchangeable pieces and we just needed to step it up and play our game,” said Ilao on what the huddle was like after Bonto went down.

The Cougars held a 37-21 lead early in the third quarter when Warriors’ Joy “Nova” Pangilinan sparked a big 14-3 run to cut the Cougar lead to 40-33. Pangilinan would trim the lead even further with free throws early in the fourth quarter to pull the Warriors within six points, 43-37.

Benavente quickly put an end to a comeback by sinking a big three point after Pangilinan’s free throws to go up 46-37. Benavente would sink another dagger three pointer to extend the lead 51-39 a few possessions later.

Ilao aided scoring back-to-back buckets to further the Cougar lead as they closed the game out on a 15-4 run.

Cougars’ Gemilie Ilao defeats four defenders to put two points in with this layup. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Cougars’ Gemilie Ilao defeats four defenders to put two points in with this layup. (photo by Jesse Castro)

“We just needed to control their primary players and help each other out when we needed it,” said Ilao on the team defense.

Defense was key as Cougar center Erin Wong created havoc in the middle by blocking shots and forcing the Warriors into tough shots around the basket. Pangilinan scored 22 points in the loss and was guarded by Benavente for majority of the game.

“We know how [Joy] plays because we’ve played with her before,” said Benavente.

Kindra Young also added 13 points for the Warriors.

Bonto reentered the game nearing the end of the second quarter and finished with 10 points. She assured that she will be ready for Thursday’s semifinal showdown.

The Cougars set up a semifinals showdown with the GW Geckos who got the big win over the higher seeded Okkodo Bulldogs. The Dolphins will play the Royals in the other semifinal matchup after Southern defeated the Harvest Eagles while ND’s Destiny Castro dropped 36 points on the JFK Islanders.

Other Scores

ND 55, JFK 51

GW 60, Okkodo 70

Souterhn 54, Harvest 54

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

http://www.akguam.com/ou/tamuning-scion/

Cougars’ Erin Wong wins the tipoff to gain control of the ball for her team. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Cougars’ Erin Wong wins the tipoff to gain control of the ball for her team. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Cougars’ Alina Bonto grabs the rebound and keeps the ball away from Warriors Rheana Molinos. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Cougars’ Alina Bonto grabs the rebound and keeps the ball away from Warriors Rheana Molinos. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Warriors’ Cara Young  and Cougars’ Alina Bonto chased down a loose ball with Young  gaining control and taking the ball to the board. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Warriors’ Cara Young and Cougars’ Alina Bonto chased down a loose ball with Young gaining control and taking the ball to the board. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Cougars’ Gemilie Ilao puts the ball up for a three point shot over Warriors’ Joy Pangilinan. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Cougars’ Gemilie Ilao puts the ball up for a three point shot over Warriors’ Joy Pangilinan. (photo by Jesse Castro)

[fbshare url=”http://www.gspnlive.com/basketball/cougars-knock-out-warriors/” type=”button”] [fblike url=”http://www.gspnlive.com/basketball/cougars-knock-out-warriors/” style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]

[/sixcol_five_last][useful_banner_manager_banner_rotation banners=53, 38, 83, 86 interval=8 width=120 height=600 orderby=rand]

Ad

GPS Sports Calendar

May

June 2023

July
SU
MO
TU
WE
TH
FR
SA
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
Events for May

31st

No Events
Events for June

1st

No Events
Events for June

2nd

No Events
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Events for June

4th

Events for June

4th

No Events
Events for June

5th

No Events
Events for June

6th

No Events
Events for June

7th

No Events
Events for June

9th

Events for June

10th

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Events for June

10th

No Events
Events for June

11th

No Events
Events for June

12th

No Events
Events for June

13th

No Events
Events for June

14th

No Events
Events for June

16th

Events for June

17th

18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Events for June

18th

Events for June

18th

No Events
Events for June

19th

No Events
Events for June

20th

No Events
Events for June

21st

No Events
Events for June

22nd

No Events
Events for June

23rd

No Events
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
Events for June

25th

Events for June

25th

No Events
Events for June

26th

No Events
Events for June

27th

No Events
Events for June

28th

No Events
Events for June

29th

No Events

COMING SOON …

GUAM SPORTS ON HOLD DUE TO SUPER TYPHOON MAWAR

QUICK HITS

Bishop Obispos beat Mt. Carmel for the IIAAG Middle School Girls Basketball championship 37-25.
—————————————-
The Benavente Roadrunners crushed the Agueda Pirates 17-1 to win the 76 PONY Middle School Baseball League. Rodney San Nicolas was a beat, striking out 13 batters in a complete game while going 4-for-4 at the plate, including a homer and 4 RBI.

 

More in Basketball