Sparks all fired up in Rotary debut

The Matansa Sparks were all fired up in their 2005 Saipan Rotary Summer Youth Basketball League debut Tuesday night.

The Sparks had their way on both ends of the floor against a young Garapan Rollers III squad en route to a 74-22 victory at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

With coach George Cruz calling the shots from the sidelines, the Sparks took control courtesy of their size and experience and quickly made the match one-sided.

The Sparks dominated the boards, forced countless turnovers, and made good on second chances at the offensive end to outscore their opponents 24-8 in the first half.

Jonathan Salas led the Sparks’ balanced attack, going off for all of his seven points in the period, while little Kyle Concepcion showed he was ready for action and pumped in six points for the G-Rollers.

Unfortunately for G-Rollers III, the Sparks were just getting started as they showed no mercy and continued to pile up the points.

The dangerous trio of Zack Diaz, Emoah Iguel, and Mario Patrinus each lit up the scoreboard with double-figure productions, spearheading an explosion that saw the Sparks rack up an eye-popping 50 points in the final 20 minutes to close the match with the 52-point victory margin.

Iguel finished with a game-high 16 points, all coming in the second half, while Patrinus and James Camacho punched in 12 and 11 points for the Sparks. Diaz also contributed 10 points.

Concepcion paced the young but determined-to-improve G-Rollers with 10 points, while Josh Moses supported with seven points.

Earlier, the Capitol Hill Breeze got a free win as the San Antonio Sixers II forfeited their bout.

According to league official Mario Sablan, the Sixers II fielded enough cagers to play, however, the team had yet to settle their entrance fee obligations with the league.

He said the team would allowed to play once the fee is settled.

League action continued last night with Bwibwiis battling Saints. Results were not available as of press time.

Two games are scheduled today, with sister teams G-Rollers and G-Rollers II banging heads at 5:30pm and Sixers I testing the Southern Sonics at 7:30pm.

Sparks 74—E. Iguel 16, Patrinus 12, Camacho 11, Diaz 10, Salas 7, A. Iguel 4, Benjamin 4, Ogarto 4, Ulloa 2, J. Iguel 2, Deleon Guerrero 2.

G-Rollers III 22—Concepcion 10, Moses 7, Palacios 2, Deleon Guerrero 2, Jung 1.

Scoring by halves: 24-8, 74-22.
Referees: Dado Vistal and Jess Pacheco.