KNIGHTS STUN BULLDOGS, SHARKS DROP EAGLES

Young Knights Stun Bulldogs

By Robert Balajadia

The St. John’s Knights made a big statement early in the IIAAG boys basketball season with a clutch 69-64 win over the Okkodo Bulldogs, and have to be taken seriously whomever challenges them despite a cast full of freshmen ballers.

The Knights came back from a large deficit Tuesday against the St. Paul Warriors to nearly steal the opening game of the season and then defeated the Harvest Eagles Friday night to get their first win. Saturday’s milestone though, defeating the Okkodo Bulldogs for the first time ever had to have been the biggest opening week takeaway from the “Fab Five” as GSPN writer Jay Leon Guerrero calls them.

St. John’s fought back from a double-digit deficit to get the score 64-58 under two minutes left in the contest when all the starters stepped up in clutch fashion.

Knights senior Arvin Flores hit two free  throws to get within 64-60, then freshman teammate Michael Min capitalized on a Bulldogs turnover on the following possession to get even closer, 64-62. Knights freshman forward Tony Hsieh then stepped in front of a driving Bulldog Karl Melencio  at the one-minute mark to foul Melencio out of the contest.

Wasting no time, the Knights got a huge three-point bucket from freshman Takumi “Curry” Simon with 50 seconds left in the game to take a 65-64 lead. Hsieh added a point at the free throw line after a missed shot attempt by the Bulldogs and Simon picked off the Bulldogs on the inbound pass and dished it to center Isaac Sim who got fouled and converted both freebies to go up 68-64.

A last ditch three by Okkodo allowed Min to tack on another point at the free throw line after the last games foul to complete the young Knights biggest win of their first high school season.

Sharks Take Siege In Second Half Over Eagles

By Jay Leon Guerrero

Patience on offense turned into high percentage, open shots for the Sanchez Sharks as they secured a key road victory against the Harvest Eagles 49-38 in the IIAAG boys basketball league. Pre-season all-tournament team guard John Buan made plays on both sides of the court and Anthony Castro came up big in the third period to help the Sharks improve to 2-1 for the season, the Eagles are winless at 0-3.

Buan stalked the Eagles on defense, recording two steals in the first quarter that led to uncontested lay-ups to go up 14-9 after the first period. The Eagles closed out the first half cutting the lead to a point behind the shooting of Kobe Sotelo and Yzaack Pecson to trail 20-21 at the break.

Eeland Wilter helped the Eagles to their first lead of the contested going up 22-21 to open up the second half. The Eagle lead lasted about 15 seconds with Castro hitting his first of two 3-pointers in the quarter to put the silver and black up for good. Castro scored 9 points in the decisive third quarter as they cruised to victory. With no shot clock in high school basketball, the Sharks constantly swung the ball until an open shot was available.

John Buan of Sanchez blows by the Eagles for an easy layup in the second quarter. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)

If a shot in the paint was unavailable, the Sharks pulled the trigger from beyond the arc, hitting 7-for-19 from downtown. “We played a little sloppy in the first half, we were looking for better execution after halftime. We know we can be one of the top teams in this league, we just got to play the way we are supposed to be playing,” said Castro.

Harvest looked to run in the final period with Sotelo leading the charge, but the Sharks slowed the tempo and controlled the pace of the game. Sotelo scored 11 points and had 5 assists, Wilter also scored 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.

Buan had a complete game with a game high 15 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals to lead the Sharks. Castro had 12 points, but his 9 scored in the third was a very important key to victory.

The Sharks will take on the St. John’s Knights on their next game. The Knights pulled off a huge upset over the Okkodo Bulldogs 69-64. The Sharks and Knights will each bring a 2-1 record into their next matchup next Tuesday at Sanchez
In the junior varsity game, the Eagles won 47-32. Mark Temerowski scored a game high 16 points for the Eagles, Evander DeGuzman scored 15 for the Sharks.

Other Scores

FD 61, Guam High 46
JFK 65, St. Paul 51
Southern 53 , ND 47 
GW 76, Tiyan 54 (GW: Devin San Agustin 20 pts, 7 rebs)

PHOTO GALLERY:

Anthony Castro of Sanchez gets stripped by Eeland Wilter while trying to find an open man. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)

Kobe Sotelo of Harvest gets stuck at the baseline by Sharks. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)

Raymond Sablan of Sanchez takes the charge as Jian Dong Lin looks to score. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)

Yzaack Pecson of Harvest looks for an open man for a pass on the baseline. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)

Eeland Willter of Harvest goes for a long two in the second quarter. (photo by Kyle Twardowski)