POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
Northern Mariana Islands - Palau 67:61
Northern Mariana Islands posted the first win at the 2010 Micronesian Games. They rebounded after a bitter loss to Pohnpei in the opener. Northern Mariana Islands held off hosting Palau to improve at 1-1 record. Palau slipped at 0-2 record at the tournament.
CNMI quickly gained the lead in this one. They stayed in charge throughout the opening quarter and posted an 18:11 lead ten minutes into the encounter. Northern Mariana Islands maintained the lead throughout the second stanza. They arrived at the interval up by 5 points 32:27. The hosts turned things around in the third frame. Gibbons notched a pair of three-pointers to ignite the run that put Palau in charge 46:45 with ten minutes to go. Barcinas and Quan helped CNMI to regain control late in regulation. Northern Mariana Islands pulled ahead and iced the victory in the dying minutes.
Jericho Cruz unloaded 31 points to lead CNMI. Danandro Barcinas added 11 points, while Tim Quan had 7 points in the victory. Watson answered with 24 points for Palau. Yutaka Gibbons (G) had 11 points in defeat.
