
By Jay Leon Guerrero
It’s been long overdue, but an organization finally put together an Islandwide All-Alumni Basketball League. The Guam Elite Academy decided to host the league and managed to register 13 high school teams of former students getting another crack at representing their alma mater and battling their old rivals.
Will Stinnett from the Elite Academy said he was happy with the turn out. “We have a lot of good athletes from different generations and that’s something we were intrigued by. It’s been long overdue and someone had to start this league,” said Stinnett.
“We got different players from different generations congregating at one neutral gym and playing the game they all love. It’s interesting to see not just the players but also family and friends coming out to watch games and learning a little about the history of the game when these players took the court in their high school days,” said Stinnett.
High school superstars from different generations who didn’t meet the age bracket now have the opportunity to play alongside eachother and take the court for their school.
“For example, tonight’s game featured Jin (Han) with JP Cruz playing on the JFK squad joining Billy Belger and Kurtis Silva. They all played in different generations and they are now on the court together representing their school,” said Stinnett.
JFK vs GW
The game was a classic battle of one of the oldest rivals on Guam with JFK and GW taking the court. The two youngest members from the JFK squad got the offense rolling for the Islanders to take a 15-3 advantage. Billy Belger and Kurtis Silva continued what they did against rival schools just two years ago and scored buckets to put their team ahead to open the contest.
The Gecko bench trimmed the lead to 28-18 by halftime with Cisco Concepcion nailing a three-pointer and Nate Torres scoring four straight points to close the half.
JP Cruz from JFK kept doing what he does best and hit 3-pointers to help the Islanders retake momentum. The Geckos, missing Joe Blas who relocated late last year, grinded their way to a comeback with Casey Cruz hustling for points and Len Aguon making a pair of 3-pointers but JFK’s deep bench prevented the comeback.
Al Vitug and Merwin Martin closed out the game for the Islanders as they celebrated their opening game victory with a 72-50 victory. Belger led the stacked JFK squad with 22 points. JP Cruz had 12 points, Silva chipped in 11 points for the Islanders (1-0). Big man Jeff Serrano scored nine points for the Islanders.
“It’s a great league and I’m excited to play with these great players from JFK. I’m looking forward to playing other good teams from FD and Okkodo,” said Belger. The Islanders take on one of the youngest teams in the league next, the Okkodo Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs alumni include the likes of Aaron Blaz, Karl Melencio and Maks Kepwe. The two rivals meet this Sunday at 7pm at the Elite Center in Tiyan.
The Geckos look to bounce back as they take on the Sanchez Sharks on March 4th at 8pm. Torres led the Geckos with 12 points, Aguon and Concepcion each chipped in nine points.
Gecko player James Stake hopes his team can bounce back and looks forward to the season.
“FD is the only school that has a known Alumni Tournament so this is special because all the schools are participating,” said Stake. “Our GW team is a scrappy team with a lot of good guards so we are looking to work hard this season and have some fun.”
North meets South
In the first game of the evening, the Sanchez Sharks led by former stars Jay Casimiro and Ben Whittaker defeated Inarajan High Hawks 52-41.
Sanchez led by as much as 15 points in the first half before Diallo Cruz from Inarajan started to lead a comeback with a pair three-pointers in the second half to cut their deficit to seven points.
Whittaker sank a short jumper and Jeff Manalastas drained a 3-pointer to secure the victory for the Sharks. Timothy Edillor led the Sharks in a balanced scoring attack with nine points. Manalastas and Jazz Ngiratumerang each scored eight points for the Sharks who improve to 2-0.
Cruz led all scorers with 17 points. Inarajan loses their opening game and fall to 0-1. Inarajan will have a break and will return on March 1st and will take on the Okkodo Bulldogs for the very first time.
Here are the current standings:
Pool A
FD JMI/Paradise Phoenix (2-0)
Oceanview/Southern (1-0)
FD Elite Friars (1-1)
St Paul Warriors (0-1)
Sanchez AMC Sharks (0-1)
ND Danks Junction (0-1)
Pool B
Sanchez Sharks (2-0)
JFK Islanders (1-0)
Okkodo Bulldogs (1-0)
GW Geckos (0-1)
Inarajan High (0-1)
ND Kings (0-1)
ND Sixteen (0-1)
Sunday’s games:
5PM: ND Kings vs ND Sixteen
6PM: Sanchez AMC Sharks vs FD JMI/Paradise Friars
7PM: Okkodo Bulldogs vs JFK Islanders
8PM: Ocenview/Southern vs FD Elite Friars
PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)
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- The Alumni Basketball League created by Guam Elite Basketball Academy is in full swing. (photo by Michael Ebio)


GPS Sports Calendar
December 2019
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for December
3rd
HS Girls Basketball
HS Boys Beach Volleyball
HS Boys Soccer
Events for December
4th
Events for December
5th
HS Boys Beach Volleyball
HS Boys Soccer
Events for December
7th
Bubble Run 5K
HS Wrestling
HS Boys Beach Volleyball
Events for December
8th
Events for December
9th
Events for December
10th
HS Boys Beach Volleyball
Tritons Men’s Basketball Championship
Events for December
12th
Events for December
14th
15th USO Rock and Run For Our Heroes
HS Wrestling
HS Boys Beach Volleyball Tournament
HS Girls Basketball Championship
Events for December
15th
HS Boys Beach Volleyball Tournament
Deep 93: Martinez vs. Mizuguchi
Events for December
18th
Events for December
19th
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
Events for December
22nd
Events for December
23rd
Events for December
24th
Events for December
25th
Events for December
26th
Events for December
27th
Events for December
28th
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Events for December
29th
Events for December
30th
Events for December
31st

Basketball
BULLDOGS BOUNCE COUGARS IN OVERTIME

Basketball
WARRIORS HOLD OFF KNIGHTS FOR TITLE SPOT

Uncategorized
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS WILL COMPETE IN ISA

Basketball
BULLDOGS BOUNCE COUGARS IN OVERTIME

Basketball
BULLDOGS ADVANCE TO SEMIS, FINAL FOUR SET
Foody’s 5 Fun Facts
Tiyan Titan Calib Naputi
Polls
DID U KNOW?
The FD Friars have retired running back Kein Artero’s (#3), becoming the third Friar in three years to have his number retired. 2018 saw two numbers be retired from quarterback Daniel Phillips (#6) and De’Aundre Cruz (#24).
COMING SOON …
– Girls Basketball Finals on Saturday!
– Deep 93: Roque Martinez HW Title Fight
– NFL Week 15: Bills at Steelers
– Jon Tuck in Bellator Japan Dec. 29
– IIAAG/GDOE Split on Jan. 1st
– GSPN Preseason Basketball Tournament
QUICK HITS
Coach Terry Stotts will be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Stotts moved to Indiana for his junior and senior years of high school after five years on Guam.
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Bubba Nickles makes a stop at the Guam marker of the World War II Memorial in Washington DC during a team trip to the capital with the reigning national softball champion UCLA Bruins.
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GSPN celebrates 8 years! Chartered 11/11/11