
By Jay Leon Guerrero

Okkodos setter Rai Santos makes a nice quick set to the middle hitter for the kill. (photo by Joey Blas)
The defending IIAAG Boys Volleyball Champion Okkodo Bulldogs are two victories away from repeating as champions after defeating the Guam High Panthers in straight sets (26-24, 25-20, 25-20) Saturday night on their home floor.
The Bulldogs were pushed to the limit against a much-improved Panther team that did not go down without a fight.
The win was expected from the Bulldogs, but their road to victory was no walk in the park.
“I’m really proud of the team, it has been an honor to coach them this season,” said Panther coach Brian Matanane. “They have exceeded my expectations, they put out their best performance.”
The Panther faithful cheered as they stunned the Bulldogs in the first set, taking a 14-11 advantage. Henry Haight and Donovan Johnson-Coleman were flawless in the opening set with Haight notching two kills and a block and Johnson-Coleman getting a pair of blocks in the middle.
“The guys in middle had big blocks and we didn’t expect that. They really caught us off-guard,” said Okkodo’s second team all-islander Gary Aromin. Aromin’s defense and good passes helped the Bulldogs in their comeback to force a deuce at 24-all.
The Panthers were unable to get a side out and surrendered the first set after two unforced errors. A very relieved Bulldog team huddled after the first set and knew they were in for a battle in order to get to the next round.
The Bulldogs came out strong in the second set and held on to an early three point lead. Kin Edusada kept the Panthers within striking distance with three kills to cut the Bulldog lead to 12-15. The Bulldogs went on a 4-1 run with setter Rai Santos finding Brian Crowe and Aromin to take a comfortable seven point lead.
The Panthers clawed back and got kills from Haight and Leon Bamba to force the Bulldogs to call a timeout.
The Bulldogs’ Ian Ilagas came up big after the timeout to close out the second set on a 6-2 run with two kills for the close 25-20 victory.
In the third set, first-team all-islander Aiden Ferrera helped the Bulldogs to an eight-point lead with four kills. The Bulldogs held on for the straight set win and a 25-20 close out victory. Crowe had the final kill of the game.
“We came out really sloppy, but thankfully we regrouped ourselves. They came to play; they weren’t the team we played previously (in the regular season) and I give them a lot of credit for that,” said Ferrera who led the Bulldogs with 8 kills.
“We learned not to take any team lightly no matter what their rankings may be. We have to bring our A-game every time,” said Aromin.
Edusada had 7 kills for the Panthers. Ilagas, who was also voted as a first-team all-islander, had 7 kills for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs will wait to for the winner of the FD vs JFK winner for a semi-final showdown.
Due to Prom nights on Saturday evening, there will be three games on Tuesday with the Southern Dolphins (6th seed) taking on the Harvest Eagles (3rd seed), the Father Duenas Friars (5th seed) taking on the JFK Islanders (4th seed) and the ND Royals (7th seed) taking on the GW Geckos (2nd seed).
The lower seed is the home team and all games start at 6pm in a best-of-five set playoff format.
PHOTO GALLERY:

Okkodo Aiden Ferrera hits a cross court shot that would find the line for the kill. (photo by Joey Blas)

Bulldogs Brian Crowe goes up for the monster kill in the third and final set against Panthers. (photo by Joey Blas)

Guam Highs Kin Edusada makes a nice save in the back court to keep the rally going for the Panthers. (photo by Joey Blas)


GPS Sports Calendar
March 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for February
28th
Events for March
2nd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
Events for March
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
ISA GIRLS SOCCER FINALS
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL FINALS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL FINALS
Events for March
4th
35th RAINBOWS FOR ALL CHILDREN 3.5 MILER
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE FINALS
Events for March
5th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 3
Events for March
5th
Events for March
6th
Events for March
7th
Events for March
9th
Events for March
11th
GSPN PRESEASON BOYS VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT DAY 1
Bank of Guam Block Party 5K
Events for March
12th
Events for March
13th
Events for March
14th
Events for March
15th
Events for March
17th
World Athletics Indoor Championships
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
18th
PAY-LESS KICK THE FAT 5K/10K
World Athletics Indoor Championships
Events for March
19th
Events for March
21st
Events for March
25th
MARIANAS OPEN PRO JAPAN TOURNAMENT
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
26th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 4
Events for March
28th
ISA GIRLS SOFTBALL
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
30th
ISA GIRLS SOFTBALL
IIAAG GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
31st
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Running/Track
SPECIAL OLYMPICS TRACK EVENT ON APR 1

Volleyball
EAGLES HOLD OFF WARRIORS IN 5 SETS

Jiu-Jitsu
MARIANAS OPEN TO TAKE OVER TOKYO

Volleyball
EAGLES HOLD OFF WARRIORS IN 5 SETS

Jiu-Jitsu
MARIANAS OPEN TO TAKE OVER TOKYO
COMING SOON …
- 4th Quarter Sports
QUICK HITS
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Guam MTB National Championship: Edward Oingerang and Jennifer Camacho are your 2023 MTB national champions. Oingerang finished the course in 1:13:24 while Camacho won her second straight title in 54:08.