’02/’04 CAPTURES 4TH FD ALUMNI CROWN

By Daniel Akimoto

The combined classes of 2002 & 2004 defeated the class of 2013 to win their fourth FD Alumni Basketball championship as a group. Shaun Perez contributed 20 points to the final score of 50-44 in the Father Dueñas Jungle. What started off as a slow game eventually turned into a show for the packed crowd.

02/04 came out swinging with a 15-8 lead which forced 2013 into a time out. Shaun Perez got hot from the three point line early which opened up the rest of the team to attack on the inside. Perez had 11 points in the first half. Vince Estella was another key player in the half as he helped grab boards and made crucial plays to help widen the lead. Will Stinnett proved that age doesn’t matter in the Jungle with key rebounds and a tough and-1 bucket to kill the momentum for 2013 as they were making a late run. 02/04 was looking confident as they entered halftime up 29-19.

Their confidence carried over with Matt Leon Guerrero hitting a wide open 3 to open up the 2nd half 32-19. Shaun Perez dropped a pair of 3s of his own with 9 second half points. 02/04’s slow paced offense helped keep them in the lead for the entire game even after 2013 cut the lead to within single digits.

Perez – 20 points
Leon Guerrero – 9 points
Estella – 7 points
Stinnett – 5 points
Wang – 5 points
Manglona – 2 points
Santos – 2 points

In their third straight championship appearance, the class of 2013 failed to put it away for the second time in a row. Looking to get their third title, things started off very rough as they went scoreless for three straight minutes before Mike Sakazaki started them off with a 3. However, despite a few short runs, 2013 could not stop 02/04’s offense switching between different defenses throughout the game. In the end, they fell short once again losing 50-44.

Baza – 15 points
Sakazaki – 12 points
Guevara – 10 points
Quintanilla – 6 points
Santos – 1 point