Friars Blaise trail to Clutch Classic championship game

A spot was at stake in Sunday's third annual Clutch High School Basketball Classic preseason tournament game between the Father Duenas Memorial School Friars and Okkodo High School Bulldogs, and losing was on neither team's agenda. With five seconds remaining in regulation, on an inbounds play, the Bulldogs had possession on FD's side of the court. Okkodo trailed by 2 points and desperately needed a score. On a play designed for Tristan Noy, the Bulldog took the ball to the hoop and was fouled. With the clock reading double-zero, at the FD Jungle, both teams retreated to their benches and Noy calmly walked to the free-throw line. Shot No. 1: a perfect swish. When shot No. 2 dropped through the cylinder, nothing but net, Okkodo rushed onto the court and began celebrating. Even the John F. Kennedy High School Islanders, who were scheduled to take the court immediately following the FD vs. OHS game, cheered for the Bulldogs. There's one thing public school teams like more than anything else: beating FD. But Okkodo hadn't beaten FD, and the Friars were moments away from teaching the Bulldogs a lesson. In the five-minute overtime period, FD's Blaise Ada scored nine of his game-high 30 points. With ball in hand and an unwillingness to lose, systematically and with calculated precision, like an engineer solving a complex math equation, Ada went to work. On one play, deep in the corner on Okkodo's side of the court, Ada burned through triple coverage, took the baseline and drove untouched to the hoop. When Ada wasn't in a position to shoot, he fired an assist to Aaron Arceo, who knocked down a 3-pointer. In the overtime period, FD's Noah Cruz added a layup and the Friars defeated the Bulldogs 90-81. 'Credit to the other team, Okkodo, they gave us a great test,' Ada said. 'They were a really tough team and it was a good game for us to get through.' 'Our game plan was just to be aggressive and get to the hole,' added Ada. With the win, the Friars, in a rematch of last season's Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam championship game, will take on the defending champions, the St. Paul Christian School Warriors, in the finals at 7 p.m. Wednesday, at the Father Duenas Phoenix Center. 'It's always a good, a predetermined match of the championships and it's the rivalry,' FD's Noah Tenorio said. 'St. Paul and FD have had a rivalry for the past 20 years. It'll be fun, it'll be intense, and I'm all for it.' For most of the game, Okkodo led, but no lead was safe against the perennial powerhouse Friars. The Bulldogs began pulling away in the third quarter and finished the frame with a 7-point lead. Leading the Bulldogs' unselfish, all-team attack, Khylle Varela scored six of his 11 points in the period, Monte Cabrera dropped in his only 5 points, and Kayjay Martin chipped in five of his 18 points. Tenorio shared that Okkodo, earlier in the game, played at a higher level of intensity and that didn't sit well with him. 'Our biggest problem was energy,' he said. 'So when we came into the game, it seemed like they wanted it more. Always being behind them in the lead and everything, we had to kick it in. It all came down to who wanted it more.' Sensing the game was slipping away, Tenorio became a dominant force, stealing, rebounding, and pounding his way to the glass. After opening the fourth quarter with a layup, the Friars' big man stole an inbounds pass, spun around an Okkodo defender, and made the bucket. Tenorio, who remained consistent through the entire 37-minute contest, scored four of his 16 points in the period. Tenorio, a true force, finished with 16 rebounds and five blocks. But the fourth-quarter heroics belonged to Noy, who scored three of his team-high 20 points, but none greater than the game-extending free throws. Adding to the Friars' numbers, Arceo, Cruz and Jaden Santos each finished with 13 points. For the Bulldogs, Cody Buluran chipped in with 16 points.
Courtesy of: postguam.com