By John Baza

The home team Okkodo Bulldogs made sure their senior night wasn’t to be spoiled as they defeated the visiting St. John’s Knights 70-46 in convincing fashion this Friday night, avenging their earlier season loss to the Knights.

Okkodo senior and team captain, Karl Melencio, was crucial to the Bulldogs’ performance in the victory as he hustled on both ends of the court, also recording a breakaway dunk in the third quarter that had the fans in awe. Melencio lead all scorers with 19 points in the contest and teammate Aiden Ferrara added 16.

The Knights handed the bulldogs their first loss early in the season, behind a last minute comeback effort. Friday was all Okkodo however, as the home team controlled the pace for majority of the bout.

Bulldog Karl Melencio throws down a one-handed dunk, which has become a signature event in recent games. (photo by Richard Camacho IV)

“We improved on our composure on defense, we practice hard everyday and we just showed up to play tonight”, said Melencio on his team’s effort in redeeming their previous loss to the Knights.

Despite the growing lead difference, the young Knights squad did not give up easily as they worked hard to close the gap behind buckets from center Isaac Sim and Michael Min in the second half.

Improved shot selection had also proved beneficial to the Knights’ offensive flow as they worked to chip away the lead, but the home team Bulldogs were relentless as they continued to force turnovers and convert on the offensive end.

Okkodo forward Aidan Ferrara put up productive numbers as well, finding the rim on multiple occasions and grabbing boards on both ends of the court.

When asked what he credits his teams dominating performance to, Ferrara replied, “Defense, and our transition to offense. Defense leads to offense.”

Bulldogs Austin Blaz finishes the nifty layup on the fast break. (photo by Richard Camacho IV)

The Knights struggled to get a clear look at the basket for most of the game as they were pestered by Okkodo’s perimeter defense.

Meanwhile, things seemed to flow for the Bulldogs as they were able to control the game from the start and cruise to a comfortable lead, allowing their bench to see some productive minutes.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to (10-5) while the Knights drop to (7-6).

Other Scores

Southern 60, ND 48
FD 76, Guam High 55
Sanchez 44, Harvest 30
GW def. Tiyan

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Bulldogs Vern Gustilo finishes his basket attack with a finger-roll. (photo by Richard Camacho IV)

Karl Melencio of the Bulldogs gets an easy bucket against the smaller Knights. (photo by Richard Camacho IV)

Bulldog Nate Lorenzo converts on the east bucket. (photo by Richard Camacho IV)

St. John’s Michael Min gets swarmed by the Bulldog defense. (photo by Richard Camacho IV)