Sharks survive Mavs' rally in 36-35 win

The Sharks survived a late Mavericks' rally to stay unbeaten in the U18 Boys Division of the 2022 KFC Summer Youth Circuit Series Sunday afternoon at the National Basketball Training Center in Tiyan. The Sharks, comprised of members of the defending Interscholastic Sports Association champions, cut out to an early lead. Riding on the tough inside presence of Geoff Gozum, Ralph Macaldo and Mark Becbec, the Sharks drew fouls and got to the cup with ease. However, the Mavs' Dylan Santiago hit a couple of late shots in the second to eke into the deficit to make it a 14-11 game going into the half. Coming off the break, the Mavericks hit a new stride. Riding on the veteran touch of graduates Karl Vinca, Jacobe Quinata and Tyler Concepcion, the Mavs eked out a one-point edge going into the final stanza. It was a back-and-forth battle much to the delight of the sitting crowd who came to watch a good game. Vinca and Rico Taitague continued to find their way through the Shark defense. Poor free-throw shooting from the Sharks made the game a lot tighter than it should have been. However, the Sharks did just enough to take home the 36-35 edge and stay unbeaten in U18 action. Macaldo and lefty Sthanlie Vitug led the Sharks with 10 and eight, respectively. The team shot 9 of 23 from the charity stripe. Vinca had 11 while Concepcion and Santiago added seven apiece in the loss. Dededo Yellow Jackets Gold 52, MVP 51: A late bucket from Kyle Ross lifted the Gold team to victory in a thrilling matchup between two very athletic teams. MVP had 0.9 seconds left on the clock, but the DYJ defense held it down for the win. Ross finished the game with 21 points, while teammate Hendrix DeFiesta added 13 in the victory. MVP's Blaise Ada, who is returning from injury, made an impact right from the get-go dropping 18 points to lead MVP. Yoshi Sayama added nine in the loss. Crusaders 47, Fire Chicken 42: The Crusaders survived overtime and a tough defensive effort to take home the five-point win. Gerald Malana was phenomenal in the run, dropping in 18 highflying points for the win. Jacob Reyes led Fire Chicken with 17 points. DYJ Black 62, Elite 57: DYJ's Andrew Quito, KayJay Martin and Tristan Noy led a balanced scoring offensive to take the win. Noy finished with 14 while Quito and Martin added 17 and 14, respectively. Noah Hernandez led Elite with 16 points.
Courtesy of: postguam.com