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By Robert Balajadia
The much anticipated showdown between the defending champion Bishop Obispos and St. Anthony Raiders turned out to be a one sided game for most of the match as Obispos leading lady Mia San Nicolas outscored the Raiders herself in their 36-16 win.
San Nicolas dropped 18 points on the Raiders doing most of her work in the first and fourth quarter.
“It felt great, awesome to get the win,” was all San Nicolas said on what beating the Raiders to stay unbeaten felt like. The Obispos stay undefeated at (5-0) while the Raiders suffer their second loss of the season and are now (4-2).
The Bishop offense got off to a slow start allowing Raiders Therese Fegurgur to get an easy first bucket of the game. San Nicolas then took matters into her own hands by driving from the wing, taking on three Raiders in process, to score her teams first points.
San Nicolas then scored six more points before teammate Chloe Salas chimed in to break away in the first quarter.
Salas stripped the ball away from the Raiders on back-to-back possessions which led to four easy points to put the Obispos up 10-2. Salas and San Nicolas combined to score all 14 points for Bishop in the first quarter, holding St. Anthony to just two points.
Raiders Nicole Gandaoli ended the scoring drought by sinking her first shot of the second quarter, but two baskets from San Nicolas and a layup from Salas had St. Anthony up 20-8 heading into the half.
A heavy dose of San Nicolas in the fourth quarter allowed Bishop to end the game on a 12-6 run to final the score.
San Nicolas made life difficult for the Raiders by blocking or altering shots in the paint. Her presence was well felt in the post on both sides of the ball, but the tall 8th grader showed impressive ball handling skills and ability to drive from the wing proving that she’s more than just a tall girl who can make layups.
Although, she’s more than comfortable just staying in the paint.
“I prefer to play down low so I can get the points in,” said San Nicolas on her most comfortable position.
Salas had eight points for the Obispos with Gandaoli and Fegurgur leading the Raiders with six points each with Fegurgur also grabbing 10 rebounds. Raiders Monica Giger had 14 rebounds and five blocked shots while not taking a single minute of rest!
NOTE: San Nicolas is the daughter of Mongmong village court legend John San Nicolas and former All-Island Oceanview High center Yvonne Speight San Nicolas.
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
Obispos Chloe Salas gets an easy bucket off a steal. (photo by Robert Balajadia)
Obispos Chloe Salas attempts a jumper from the corner. (photo by Robert Balajadia)
Raiders Therese Fegurgur battles for possession of the ball between two Obispos. (photo by Robert Balajadia)
Raiders Mikaela Bumagat is pressured by Obispos Alexis Fejeran. (photo by Robert Balajadia)
Fearless: Despite the height difference, Raiders Kirsten Silva challenges Obispos Mia San Nicolas on a layup where Silva would get to the free throw line. (photo by Robert Balajadia)
Raiders Nicole Gandaoli drives baseline against the Obispos. (photo by Robert Balajadia)
Obispos Mia San Nicolas battles for two points in the post. (photo by Robert Balajadia)
DID U KNOW?
Frank ‘The Crank’ Camacho was a competitive youth golfer in Saipan with dreams of making it to the PGA.
QUICK HITS
(AP/Carlos Osorio)
