Team Guam is top seed in tournament

William Stinnett

Team Guam battled early then pulled away to beat the University of the East 80-63 Wednesday in the Guam Invitational Basketball Tournament, held at the University of Guam Calvo Field House. Joe Blas and Darren Hechanova each had monster games to lead Team Guam and make them the top seed in the tournament's semifinals, which will be played Friday. Blas finished one short of his second double-double in a row, scoring a team-high 19 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Hechanova was 80 percent from the field, hitting 8 of 10 shots. He also was 67 percent from beyond the arc, going two-of-three to finish the game with 18 points. 'I was feeling it after my first couple of shots went in. I was confident. We got the job done tonight but it's not over yet. We have a game Friday so we have to take care of that,' Hechanova said. 'It won't mean anything if we don't win the championship. We still have work to do.' Team Guam's defense won the game, Hechanova said. 'We finished today and defense was a big part of our game,' he said. Russ Wesley finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while William Stinnett (191-G-86, college: Wenatchee Valley CC) finished with 10 points for Team Guam. Sharpshooting Alvin Pasao of the University of the East was the game's top scorer with 22 points. He hit five 3-pointers. Teammate Edgar Charcos was the only other player in double digits, with 11 points. The loss was the first for the University of the East in the tournament. They will play National University on Friday night at 6 p.m. in the semifinals. Team Guam takes on fourth-seeded University of Guam at 8 p.m. The finals will be played Saturday, with the third-place match at 4 p.m. and the championship game at 6 p.m. All games will be played at the UOG Calvo Field House.
Courtesy of: guampdn.com