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By Robert Balajadia
The GW Geckos and Okkodo Bulldogs will once again battle for the pre-season championship with both teams picking up semifinal wins Tuesday night. The Geckos won a close battle against the Guam High Panthers and the Bulldogs battled back from a 20-point deficit to beat the JFK Islanders.
Wednesday’s tipoff between the Bulldogs and Geckos will be at 7 pm with the exhibition game between Team Kali vs Team Destiny preceding them at 5:30 pm.
Bulldogs comeback from 20-point deficit to stun Islanders
The 29-9 lead midway though the 2nd quarter didn’t phase the Okkodo Bulldogs as they outscored the Islanders 31-13 in the second half to beat JFK for the second time in the tourney.
Aiden Ferrara and Vern Gustilo had 12 points each with the bulk of their scoring coming in the second half. Ferrara scored a bucket early in the 4th to tie the game at 35 and Gustilo burned the Islander defense for a quick two for the 37-35 lead, their first of the game.
Liann Torres made the big shots for the Bulldogs by hitting two clutch three pointers in the final three minutes. Torres’ first big bucket came at the three minute mark to tie the game at 42.
Torres then made a much bigger shot out of a timeout with 1:11 left in regulation to give break a 44 tie, giving Okkodo the 47-44 advantage.
Islanders Billy Belger and Chris Conner missed potential game tying shots and Gustilo iced the win at the free throw line to final the score 49-44 after more desperation three pointers in the final 15 seconds from JFK.
Conner was red hot in the first half where he scored 14 of his 19 points. Belger finished with 9 points and Aljurell Grape tallied 8.
After only scoring 4 points in the opening quarter, Okkodo returned the favor by holding the Islanders to 4 points in the 3rd quarter. Gustilo knocked down a pair of momentum changing threes in the 3rd quarter where Okkodo outscored JFK 18-4.
Geckos outlast Panthers in 4th quarter
A back-and-forth contest ended in favor of the Geckos with GW getting just enough to knock the Panthers out of the tourney in the 53-50 win. Despite going 6-22 from the charity stripe, the Geckos survived the late game drama after the Panthers got two attempts to send the game into overtime.
A GW turnover allowed the Panthers to attempt a corner three-pointer that hit the side of the backboard and went straight out of bounds. With six seconds on the clock, the Geckos threw an inbounds pass at mid-court that was intercepted by Panther Jujuan King and fed ahead to teammate Rodney Taitague for a three-point try from 35 feet.
Taitague’s shot was well short giving the Geckos the nod as they advance to the pre-season finals for the second straight year after winning it all in 2015 also against the Okkodo Bulldogs.
Geckos Nathaniel Kyle Gaitan and Devin San Agustin led the team with 11 points in a balanced scoring effort while the Panthers got double figures from the Rodney Taitague (16), Juan King (14), and Jujuan King (12).
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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
24th
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Events for March
25th
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
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
28th
Events for March
30th
ISA GIRLS SOFTBALL
IIAAG GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Events for March
31st
IIAAG BOYS VOLLEYBALL
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Volleyball
VOLLEYBALL KICKS OFF BUSY 4TH QUARTER SPORTS

Volleyball
VOLLEYBALL KICKS OFF BUSY 4TH QUARTER SPORTS
COMING SOON …
- 4th Quarter Sports
QUICK HITS
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.
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Kobe Miyashita, with St. John’s coach Arvin Flores, was named the 2023 IIAAG Middle School Boys Volleyball MVP!