Connect with us

Basketball

FRIARS WIN UNDEFEATED RIVALRY

[sixcol_five_last]

By Patrick Lujan

Friars' John Baza gets fouled and scores the acrobatic layup then sinks the ensuing free throw to complete the "and one". (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars’ John Baza gets fouled and scores the acrobatic layup then sinks the ensuing free throw to complete the “and one”. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

With the game safely secured, the Father Duenas student body confidently rained down the chant of “UN-DE-FEATED” in the Phoenix Center Friday night.

In a battle of the last two unbeaten teams at 8-0, the Friars outmuscled the St. Paul Warriors and outplayed their visitors in nearly every aspect of a big 59-39 win.

“FD is just a better team,” St. Paul head coach Paul Pineda said. “Hat’s off to FD. They kicked our butts. They killed us in every phase of the game. They’re more talented and you can see the experience.”

The Friars dominated the boards (34-13) and suffocated the St. Paul talented backcourt of Tito Canovas and Shiek Carino on their way toward taking a big step in this season’s journey.

McDonald's player of the game: Friars' John Baza. 20 points, 6 assists

McDonald’s player of the game: Friars’ John Baza. 20 points, 6 assists

IIAAG logo 1-13“That was our goal tonight was to stop their two guards,” FD senior guard John Baza said. “We did a good job trapping them and getting the help needed.”

Not only did the Friars control the boards, but the defense frustrated the Warriors weapons into shooting only 17 percent (4-for-23)  in the first half.

The Friars took control from the get go as Baza got the fired-up home crowd going with a quick 3-point play. He completed another 3-point play at the end of the opening quarter to gain a comfortable 14-6 lead.

Junior center Jeremiah Taitano was a monster underneath, pulling down nine first-half rebounds and finished with seven points and 13 boards.

Meanwhile, the FD offense was flowing smoothly as a couple of treys from Nick Aglubat in the second quarter from each corner helped extend the Friar lead to 28-14 at the break.

Friars' Michael Sakazaki tries to sink a fade away shoe off his own offensive rebound. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars’ Michael Sakazaki tries to sink a fade away shot off his own offensive rebound. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

“We’re showing promise,” FD head coach Eddie Pelkey said. “We have an ultimate goal and we took a big step tonight.”

The Warriors were much improved in the third quarter as their lone big man John San Andres woke up with eight points in the period, but they could not get any closer than 10 points when Canovas’ offensive putback cut it to 36-26 with 1:40 left in the third.

Holding a 40-28 lead heading into the final quarter, Baza quickly ended any chance of a comeback with two strong layups at the onset of the quarter. It was all time management from there as the Friars kept the Warriors at bay.

“We just wanted to defend home,” Pelkey added. “ We’ve been away and we felt it was important to defend home.”

Because of scheduling conflicts at with Phoenix Center, the Friars were forced to play seven of their first eight games on the road.

Warriors' Sheik Carino slashes through the defense of Friars' Michael Sakazaki and Bruce Merrill. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Warriors’ Sheik Carino slashes through the defense of Friars’ Michael Sakazaki and Bruce Merrill. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Baza was named the McDonald’s Player of the Game finishing with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and six assists. Big man Michael Sakazaki added 14 points and six rebounds despite being in foul trouble early on.

For St. Paul, Canovas had 12 points while Carino and San Andres added 11 apiece as they finished with a 31 percent shooting night as a team. The Friars shot 51 percent.

“We’re surprised that we’ve done this well with the young team that we have,” Pineda said about the Warriors, who have only one senior on the roster (Canovas).

The only blemish for the FD were the turnovers as it committed 23 turnovers – 10 in the first quarter alone. St. Paul committed 12.

OTHER GAMES

Guam High 38, Sanchez 34

GW 70, Harvest 49

Okkodo 61, Southern 51

JFK 94, Notre Dame 64

 

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

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

boys hoops standings

The FD fans cheer on their home team. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

The FD fans cheer on their home team. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars' John Baza attempts the layup with little defensive pressure from the Warriors. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars’ John Baza attempts the layup with little defensive pressure from the Warriors. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars' Jeremiah Taitano attempts the hook shot over the defense of Warriors' John San Andres. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars’ Jeremiah Taitano attempts the hook shot over the defense of Warriors’ John San Andres. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Warriors' John San Andres tries to score from underneath the basket though Friars' Jonathan Diego. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Warriors’ John San Andres tries to score from underneath the basket through Friars’ Jonathan Diego. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars' Jonathan Onedera scores the easy fast break layup. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars’ Jonathan Onedera scores the easy fast break layup. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Warriors' Bria Tsujii and Frairs' Michael Sakazaki and Jonathan Onedera fight for the rebound. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Warriors’ Brian Tsujii and Friars’ Michael Sakazaki and Jonathan Onedera fight for the rebound. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars' Michael Sakazaki utilizes his height as he attempts the jump shot over the much shorter Sheik Carino of the Warriors. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars’ Michael Sakazaki utilizes his height as he attempts the jump shot over the much shorter Sheik Carino of the Warriors. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars' Luis Cabral tries to sink a shot through the stiff defense of Warriors' Brian Tsujii. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

Friars’ Luis Cabral tries to sink a shot through the stiff defense of Warriors’ Brian Tsujii. (photo by Errol Alegre, Jr.)

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

[fbshare url=”http://www.gspnlive.com/?p=23016″ type=”button”]
[fblike url=”http://www.gspnlive.com/?p=23016″ style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]

Ad

GPS Sports Calendar

September

October 2023

November
SU
MO
TU
WE
TH
FR
SA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Events for September

30th

No Events
Events for October

2nd

Events for October

3rd

Events for October

3rd

No Events
Events for October

5th

Events for October

6th

Events for October

7th

8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Events for October

7th

No Events
Events for October

9th

Events for October

10th

Events for October

11th

Events for October

12th

Events for October

13th

08:00 PM - 11:00 PM

BRAWL 3

Dusit Thani Resorts
Events for October

14th

15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Events for October

14th

No Events
Events for October

15th

No Events
Events for October

17th

Events for October

17th

No Events
Events for October

19th

Events for October

20th

Events for October

21st

22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Events for October

21st

No Events
Events for October

22nd

No Events
Events for October

24th

Events for October

24th

No Events
Events for October

26th

Events for October

27th

Events for October

28th

29
30
31
1
2
3
4
Events for October

29th

Events for October

29th

No Events
Events for October

31st

COMING SOON …

  • High school girls volleyball playoffs
  • Brawl 3: Oct 13
  • Guam’s Strongest Man and Woman Competition October 29

 

QUICK HITS

The Figo Islanders 40s women’s softball team took gold in the Senior Softball World Championship in Las Vegas. Figo came out of the loser’s bracket and beat the Arizona Belles 17-3 in the AA division championship game Sunday afternoon.
Other Guam teams that played in the 40s tournament were: Team SOTTA (women’s) and Bud Light Guam, Friars 671 and Sindalun Guahan (men’s).
Sindalu finished a respectable 4th out of 24 AAA division teams.
——————————————————-
In Guam’s first time competing in the FIBA Asia Cup, we draw China, Japan, and Mongolia in Group C. Competition begins in 2024. Guam also moves up the FIBA world rankings to #76.

More in Basketball