FRIARS STUN PANTHERS

By Carmen Gogue

The Father Duenas Friars remain undefeated after beating the Guam High Panthers 67-49 in the IIAAG Boys Basketball League Saturday night at the Guam High gym. The Friars were strong and versatile in both offense and defense flustering the Panthers at their home court.

The gym was jam packed with fans ready to witness the battle of the two undefeated teams, sporting both Friar and Panther gear to support their boys.

Junior Noah Tenorio dominated down in the paint, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to lead the Friars. Teammate Jamel Romero chipped in 12 points.

“Tonight felt really good. It’s really a testimony to how much hard work we put in.”

FD Junior Noah Tenorio

The Friars gained possession early from the tip off with Noah Cruz immediately attacking the basket to put FD on the scoreboard first. In the following play, Tenorio found himself with a charging foul but quickly recovered and bodied the Panthers defense to score his first two points of the night.

With Tenorio adding two more points from a pair of made free throws off a foul, the Friars were on a 6-0 run lead.

The Panthers struggled to gain momentum with none of their shots falling more than halfway into the quarter until Judah Alcantra hit a deep three-pointer to make the home crowd roar.

FD continued to increase their lead with shots from Tenorio, Cruz and Phil Guerrero II. Guam High’s Cameron Brantley ended the first quarter with a three-pointer bringing the score 18-6.

The second quarter displayed great efforts from both teams with the Panthers closing FD’s lead to 32-24, just a small eight point deficit going into the half time.

FD’s well-rounded roster overpowered the Panthers in the second half with three-pointers and crafted layups coming from various players to expand the widening lead. The Panthers adjusted their defensive tactics, but FD’s lead became to far out of reach.

Despite the upset, Cameron Brantley scored 26 points for the Panthers.

Junior Varsity

The Friars defeated the Panthers 51-48 in the junior varsity game.

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