Ochobu looking sharp against Caropinos

Ochobu kept its pennant championship hopes alive as the team is well on its way to its fifth win in six games in the ongoing World Organized Rocball High School League.

Needing a win to remain just a game behind defending champion and league leader Mwaliyas, Ochobu pulverized Caropinos in the first three sets of their bout yesterday at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

Ochobu currently leads the match 47-24 with one set remaining in regulation.

Ochobu wasted no time and started out with a bang as Anip Tisa, J.R. Rudolph, and David Tisa took care of much of the offensive load and lifted their team to a 16-11 victory.

It went from good to better for the Ochobu players as they continued to pound the ball in the second set to take a commanding lead. The team was on target with serves that resulted in several aces and xunks, and simply had their way against the rookie Caropinos team en route to a 15-3 win. With that, Ochobu headed into the third set ahead by 17 points, 31-14.

The Caropinos finally got into a groove courtesy of Matthew Iguel, who took care of business while on serve in the third set to make the match interesting. Iguel put a hurt on the ball as he aimed for the goal, giving Ochobu’s goalie trouble.

With Ochobu having a hard time returning the ball off Iguel’s serve, Caropinos managed to take the lead, 9-7, but favor found its way back to Ochobu’s corner as soon as the team returned the ball over the net. Tarnes Kapwich connected for a xunk, highlighting a 9-1 run that pulled Ochobu to the top, 16-10.

The match was then halted as time expired and will resume with the fourth set today at 11:30am.

Awes Kawes currently leads Ochobu with eight points on four aces, while Iguel and Nate Mateo each had two aces for four points to lead the Caropinos, who are currently 0-5.

Caropinos still has a shot at pulling off an upset, as they only need to win the fourth set to force o-kon.

The team trailing heading into o-kon must then win two sets to win the match, while the team leading must win at least one set to finish off the bout.

According to Rocball creator Jim Feger, the Ochobu-Caropinos match will close out the sixth round of the regular season.

The seventh round begins tomorrow with Black Magic and B-n-S taking the court. The two teams are tied in fourth place in the team standings with 3-3 records.

Meanwhile, Feger said the regular season should end in style as Mwaliyas, which sits with as 6-0 record, will face Ochobu on Jan. 30, with the winner of the bout taking home the regular season pennant title. With a win today, Ochobu will sport a 5-1 card.