Warriors complete three-peat

The St. Paul Warriors defeated the Okkodo High Bulldogs 57-48 at a packed University of Guam Calvo Field House Saturday evening to earn their third straight Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam high school girls basketball title. Janniliese Quintanilla provided the offensive and defensive spark, finishing with a game-high 24 points for the Warriors. The junior played savvy basketball, doing everything for the Warriors. She seemed to be everywhere on the court, whether crashing the glass for rebounds or getting steals to start the fast break. 'No one thought we'd be here. It's the heart of a champion, and these girls kept proving me wrong,' St. Paul head coach Paul Pineda said after cutting down the nets. 'I'll tell you the difference, Janniliese, MVP of this league. That's what MVPs do they come out and lead their team to the championship.' Quintanilla got help from the usual suspects on Saturday. Senior guard Kirsten Silva chipped in with 13 points and senior Monica Giger added four points and the normal defensive dominance in the paint. 'This year was way different from past two years; we lost a lot of starters and had to work harder this year for the 'ship. It really means a lot, because our hard work really paid off,' said Giger. Giger and Silva are the lone seniors on an upstart Warriors team that many thought was beatable for the first time since the start of their dominant run in 2017. 'All our hard work really paid off we played our defense and hit our free throws,' said Silva. Both teams ground it out in the first half with the Warriors pulling ahead, 25-20, on a fast-break layup by Quintanilla to close out the half. Quintanilla had 10 at the half to pace the Warriors. Senior Angeli Dacanay kept Okkodo within striking distance with 10 for the Lady Bulldogs. The Warriors made their move in the third quarter, holding the Bulldogs to just seven points in the period. A jumper by Silva opened up a 10-point lead, 32-22, with 2:11 left in the quarter. A bucket in the paint by Giger, a free throw and 3-pointer by Quintanilla stretched the lead to 38-24. A long-distance shot by senior D'Shanae Cruz stopped the bleeding for Okkodo and narrowed the gap to 39-27 to close out the third. The fourth quarter was a wild one as the Bulldogs slowly tried to reel in the Warriors. An offensive board and put-back by Anjanette Ponce cut the deficit to 48-42 with four minutes left to play. But that was the closest the Bulldogs would get as the Warriors put the game away at the charity stripe down the stretch. Much of the fourth quarter was spent at the free throw line with the two teams combining for 33 trips to the line. Okkodo hit 6-of-13 and the Warriors converted on 14-of-20 free throws. Quintanilla came up clutch, making 9-of-12 free throws in the final frame to help secure the win. Dacanay led the Bulldogs with 19 points and 19 rebounds, while teammate Cruz added 18 points in the loss. 'We got into a hole in the third quarter,' acknowledged Okkodo co-captain Vanezza Gustilo. 'I'm proud of the team, we didn't give up.' Every time Quintanilla stepped to the free throw line, the St. Paul faithful chanted 'M-V-P.' Although she was selected to the IIAAG all-island team, Quintanilla admitted she was disappointed to find out she hadn't been selected the most valuable player. It provided motivation for her matchup with Okkodo pointed out Quintanilla. 'For sure I wanted it, I thought I had a good season,' Quintanilla said. 'My mentality today was we were going to win, no matter what.' With a third banner set to go up in the rafters at St. Paul Christian School in Dededo, Quintanilla is already thinking about motivation for next season. 'It would be great to finish with four championships,' said Quintanilla, smiling.
Courtesy of: postguam.com