
[useful_banner_manager_banner_rotation banners=49 interval=5 width=120 height=600 orderby=rand] |
By Asha Marie Robles
The chants from both teams were earsplitting as the GW Geckos had only one more point to win their semifinal game and advance into the championships, which they did. The Geckos defeated the ND Royals 26-24, 15-25, 25-23, 25-22 Tuesday night at their home gym in Mangilao. The Geckos secured the win after a Royals’ hitter overshot her spike, ending the fourth set at 25-22.
Gecko’s head coach Bobbi Quinata couldn’t help but laugh out the words, “Third times a charm”, as the Geckos beat the Royals in both regular season’s matches. “The girls performed well tonight. We are still preparing mentally for the championship, but for tonight’s game we took it one step at a time”, she added.
The Geckos and Royals went head-to-head in the beginning of the first set. It wasn’t until a Royals’ error at 12-12 would spark the Geckos and give them the lead. Samantha Quinata then added four points pushing the Geckos up 16-12.
The Royals had a few great fast kills by Destiny Castro and seemed to be catching up to the Geckos at 19-17. However, with a speedy kill that went through Royals’ blockers by Geckos’ Samyra Duenas, the Royals couldn’t take the lead.
With the ending of the first set tied at 24-24, a kill by Sia Duenas would once again give the Geckos’ the lead and with just a point left to win, a mistake by the Royals secured it.
“It felt good to win the opening set. I had to do something to pick my team up and to keep them going so im really happy with that,” said Sia Duenas on how she felt about contributing to their win during the first set.
The second set seemed to be a completely different game as the Royals outshined the Geckos, defeating them 25-15.
Sia Duenas stated, “Losing the second set was hard but we already knew the reason why we lost it. We lacked communication during that set but we told each other that we can win this and that we will win this match, so we did it”.
The Royals started off strong as setter Paris Blas banked in five points out of her six serves, leading her team with a 5-0 opener.
The Geckos continued to struggle behind serves from Royals’ Muñeka Taisipic who added five serves, three that were aces. The Geckos closest trail was at 16-13 but with a kill by Taisipic, the Royals continued to dominate throughout the set.
Coming out fierce for the Royals during the second set was Castro as she led her team in kills, two of which ended the set at 25-15.
After losing the second set, the Geckos were back in the game as they beat the Royals in the third set 25-23.
Head coach Quinata’s words of inspiration during the short intermission seemed to work. “I told the girls that they were only two sets away from the championship game, then it came down to points in the fourth set so it was really up to whoever wanted it more and they took it”, she stated.
Though the Royals took a 4-0 lead in the beginning behind Taisipic’s killer serves, the Geckos bounced right back after Sia Duneas banked in five of her serves. Leading 5-4, Royals’ Castro would slam one down to get the score at 5-5.
The Royals’ once again played catch up behind three back-to-back kills by Taisipic and tied the game at 11-11. From there, points would be handed back and forth between teams until the very end. Tied at 23-23, a mistake by the Royals would help give the Geckos a one-point lead. Needing only a single point left to end the set, Sia Duenas slammed down a hard kill to once again secure the win.
The fourth and final set of the evening looked much like the third as the Royals’ once again started off extremely strong, however could not capitalize on plays after trailing 14-13. Once the Geckos took the lead, it was a game of who wanted it more. The Geckos took it 25-22 behind teamwork, great passing, and fast hitting.
“Team wise, I think we did really good. We did have some downfalls, but we didn’t let that get to us and knew how to pick each other back up,” says Sia Duenas who led her team in kills.
Geckos’ head coach Quinata says that her girls just need to remember one thing in order to win the championship game, the F word. “They just have to focus. That’s how you win”, she said.
The championship match starting lineup for the Geckos include Samantha Quinata, Sia Duenas, Samyra Duenas, Jasmine Almoguera, Colleen Quinata, Kayana Leon Guerrero, and libero Ana Aguon.
Other Game
Cougars def. Dolphins 26-24, 25-16, 26-24
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:


Foody’s Fun Facts
Foody’s Fun Facts with Makayla Atoigue
ND Royals Rugby Player Makayla Atoigue lays down her Foody’s Fun Facts and shares her dream vacation spot
GPS Sports Calendar
May 2022
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
- SU
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 1
Events for May
2nd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET #4
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
3rd
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA RUGBY LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL QUARTERFINALS
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
5th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
6th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL SEMIFINALS
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
7th
GPD HOT PURSUIT 5K
MARIANAS OPEN
ISA MIDDLE SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD
ISA RUGBY LEAGUE
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for May
9th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET #5
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
10th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER All-Star Meeting
IIAAG GIRLS BEACH VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG GIRLS SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL FINALS
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
10th
Events for May
12th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL ALL-ISLAND MEETING
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
12th
Events for May
14th
14th JUDICA CRABAO 5K
ISA MIDDLE SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD
ISA RUGBY LEAGUE
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA GIRLS SOCCER FINALS
Events for May
16th
ISA TRACK & FIELD ALL-ISLAND MEET
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE All-Star Meeting
Events for May
17th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
18th
ISA RUGBY LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
IIAAG GIRLS MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Events for May
19th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
20th
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL All-Star Meeting
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
21st
Pre-Memorial Day 13-Miler
GETTING GUAM HEALTHY 5K BUBBLE RUN/HEALTH FAIR
ISA MIDDLE SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD All-ISLAND MEET
ISA RUGBY LEAGUE FINALS
ALPHA WARRIOR ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIPS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE FINALS
2022 Guam Track & Field National Championships
Events for May
23rd
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL SEMIFINALS
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
24th
Events for May
26th
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL FINALS
GUAM MAJOR LEAGUE
Events for May
27th
- 30
- 31
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Events for May
29th
Events for May
30th

Baseball
DODGERS HAND TRITONS FIRST LOSS

Running/Track
FBLG, BMS CONQUER MIDDLE SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD ALL-ISLAND

Volleyball
ROSARIO: BOYS VOLLEYBALL MVP

Baseball
NINETE, JR. WINS 2022 BASEBALL MVP

Running/Track
PANTHERS SWEEP ALL-ISLAND TRACK & FIELD MEET

Volleyball
ROSARIO: BOYS VOLLEYBALL MVP
Foody’s Fun Facts
Foody’s Fun Facts with Makayla Atoigue
ND Royals Rugby Player Makayla Atoigue lays down her Foody’s Fun Facts and shares her dream vacation spot
Foody’s Fun Facts
Foody’s Fun Facts with Makayla Atoigue
ND Royals Rugby Player Makayla Atoigue lays down her Foody’s Fun Facts and shares her dream vacation spot
COMING SOON …
- IIAAG & ISA Championships
- YOUTH FOOTBALL LEAGUE KICKOFF June 4
- GSPN Boys Volleyball All-Star Game
- Pacific Mini-Games in Saipan