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Kanoa Resort nears regular season sweep
Kanoa Resort’s Douglas Schmidt scoops up a shot against POI’s Jesse Santos, right, during an earlier game in the Tan Holdings caging at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Kanoa Resort moved one win away from sweeping the regular season of the 2016 Tan Holdings Inter-Company Basketball League following an 89-59 demolition of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan last Friday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.
Kanoa now has a 9-0 record and will close out its campaign in the two-round robin elimination this Friday when it faces Shirley’s Coffee Shop. Fiesta fell to a 6-3 mark, but remains in second place behind the unbeaten Kanoa.
The battle between the Top 2 teams in the six-squad field ended in another lopsided win for Kanoa as the trio of Douglas Schmidt and Matt and Ernest Duenas joined forces anew to lift the league leader to a bigger winning margin than their first against the same team. Kanoa won by 15 against Fiesta in their first meeting last month, 64-49.
Matt top-scored in Kanoa’s first victory over Fiesta, making 21 points and although he did not led his team’s offense in their second win, the burly forward still had 20-plus output last Friday, tallying 24. Schmidt paced Kanoa in their rout of Fiesta, firing 28, 7 more than his production in their first win, while Duenas had 11, just one marker short of his output over the same team last month.
Schmidt and Matt outgunned the entire Fiesta crew in the first half alone to hand Kanoa a promising 44-27 advantage. Schmidt finished the opening 20 minutes of play with 15 points, while Matt chipped in 13.
Kanoa’s 1-2 punch on offense were still at it in the second half to widen the gap, while their teammates also found their targets to give Fiesta a beating.
Arjay Nonato had 16 points to lead Fiesta’s losing cause, while Jarett Matsutaro contributed 14. Fiesta’s main man Elmer Esdrelon was held to 6 points.
Kanoa 89 — Schmidt 28, M. Duenas 24, E. Duenas 11, Sacramento 8, Pablo 7, Usi 3, Agulto 3, Bustillo 2, Rabauliman 2.
Fiesta 59 — Nonato 16, Matsutaro 14, Maratita 7, Esdrelon 6, Macoto 6, Quizon 5, Villamena 4.
Scoring by halves: 44-27, 89-59.
