SHARKS UPSET TOP SEEDED ISLANDERS

By Jay Leon Guerrero

After pulling off a convincing win the night before against the GW Geckos, the JFK Islanders were heavily favored to beat the third place Simon Sanchez Sharks Saturday night. The Sharks, however, had other plans and halted the Islanders’ 10-game winning streak with a convincing 60-50 win on their home court.

The Islanders were red hot early going up 8-0 to open up the game with Wayne Jesus, Chris Conner and Ricky Pak making plays on offense. The visiting Islander fans were on their feet and the crowd sensed another blowout victory in favor of the “green and gold.”

But the Sharks remained calm and weathered the early blows from the Islanders and patiently moved the ball around on offense until a clear shot was available. The patience proved to work with Kalvin Vitug catching fire for the Sharks. With the Islander defenders looking to stop GSPN’s all-tournament team guard John Buan, Vitug found himself open on skip passes for wide open looks that he swished every time in the first half. Vitug wen 4-for-4 from downtown to put his team up 27-18 by halftime.

The Islanders played great defense in the first half coming up with seven steals but still trailed after shooting poorly from three-point land making only 1-of-7 shots from beyond the arc. Despite the poor shooting, the Islanders remained in striking distance going into the fourth period. The Islanders went on a 7-2 run to close out third period with Conner hitting a three to trail 37-30 going into the final period.

Sanchez Sharks John Garcia penetrates the Islanders defense. (photo by Richard Camacho IV)

Coming into the final eight minutes of play, the Islanders looked to pressure the Shark guards and went to their bread and butter- their stingy full court trap defense. But the Sharks were ready for the press this time around. Buan led the way and broke the Islander press which had him score seven quick points as his team went up 46-33 with 5:30 left in regulation.

Buan relied on his speed and his teammates to make good passes to close out the game. Down double digits, the Islanders got overly aggressive which caused three players to foul out with three minutes remaining. Buan and the Sharks completed their upset by hitting 6-of-10 from the charity stripe to secure the win in the final two minutes.

Buan was clutch in the final period, scoring 14 points after scoring just five points in the first three periods. Buan said his teammates deserve all the credit. “We did a really good job as a team out there, we executed our plays,” he said.

He also said that his teammates making shots in the first half helped everyone on the team get into a good offensive rhythmn. “Kalvin’s shooting in the first half definitely helped, he was knocking them down and that gave us confidence for the rest if the game” said Buan.

The Sharks, along with Friars and the Islanders, are the remaining teams still undefeated on the home court. With the victory, the Sharks increase their chances of hosting at least one game on their home court.

In the junior varsity game, the Sharks defeated the Islanders 41-33. RJay Saburo had 12 points the Sharks (8-4) and Ruedell Galang scored 9 points for the Islanders (9-3).

Stats

Sharks-
John Buan – 19 PTS, 11 REB, 4 STL
Kalvin Vitug – 19 PTS, 5 3PM, 3 AST
Ralph Devera – 13 PTS, 4 REB
Anthony Castro – 6 PTS, 9 REB, 5 TO

JFK-
Wayne Jesus – 15 PTS, 3 STL
Chris Conner – 10 PTS, 4 BLK
Billy Belger – 9 PTS, 12 REB, 5 TO
Jaron Weilbacher – 8 PTS, 9 REB

Rebounds – JFK 34, SSHS 37
3P field goals – JFK 3/17 (17.6 percent) , SSHS 7/14 (50 percent)

Other Scores

FD 74, Tiyan 40
St. John’s 50, St. Paul 49
Guam High 64, Southern 52
Okkodo 61, Harvest 33

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Sharks Anthony Castro eludes the defense for two points. (photo by Richard Camacho IV)

(photo by Richard Camacho IV)

(photo by Richard Camacho IV)

(photo by Richard Camacho IV)

(photo by Richard Camacho IV)

Islanders Jaron Weilbacher sends a floater over the Sharks defense. (photo by Richard Camacho IV)

(photo by Richard Camacho IV)