Agape storms the court to v-ball champs

Agape Christian School Torchbearers finally secured the elusive championship trophy after they struck down Francisco M. Sablan Middle School Napu Riders in the finals of the NMIVA-PSS Interscholastic Boys Middle School Volleyball League 2023-2024.

In a lively Marianas High School Gymnasium last Saturday, the Torchbearers struggled but fought out of a tough first inning, 22-20, then dominated the second set, 21-7, to clinch the championship.

ACS’ starters and eighth graders Daniel Yang, Raffy Cai, Danny Cheng, Reyviel Escarlan, Joseph Yang, and Benny Li led the Torchbearers, along with Daniel Huang, Scott Shi, Benjamin Cai, and Andy Chen, to their school’s first championship ever in any ball sports competitions.

While the Napu Riders’ Michael Elayda, Kyle Tabenas, Xiaolin Guo, Jairoh Guilas, Jairus Pangilinan, Sean Morilla, Frank Lumanlan, Keith Agulto, De’anthony Aldan, and Dezmon Camacho gave the Torchbearers a run for their money in the first set, ACS showed no mercy in the second and final set.

Daniel Yang’s precise kills at the net and unpredictable game play rooted FMS to the ground as all they could do was watch the ball fly and land point after point for ACS in the final set.

FMS had a good momentum going in the first set after their recent win against Saipan International School in the semis a few minutes earlier, but ACS’ Daniel Yang ensured they get the title this year after falling short last year.

It was a back-and-forth of points in the first set, 13-13, 14-14, 15-15, until the very end, which pushed the first game to extras. Whoever won by a margin of 2 points got the set, and Daniel Yang’s back-to-back attacks, after perfect set ups at the net secured the close win, 22-20.

Third place went to last season’s champion Saipan International School after they fell to FMS in the semis, 20-22, 19-21.

Head coach En Yang Pang said it felt great to win the championship, since this was the first championship for ACS in any ball sport. Last season, they were the runner-up after they lost to SIS in the finals. He said this title validates his coaching because, “I feel like the boys were very receptive to the way I was coaching them. It can be a little harsh sometimes, but they did a really good job over the season,” he said.

With their undefeated run this year, he said it was a very good season. “I’m just very happy that they were able to pull off all these wins and bring the championship to us,” he said. As for their finals against FMS, he said that it was a very tough first set against them because FMS had momentum going after their win over SIS.

ACS, since they were in the winner’s bracket, their last game was around 10am and they had to wait for the winner of the semis, so by the time they played in the finals, they weren’t that warmed up.

After a really close and tough first set, however, Pang said that by the second set, “they were warmed up and they were able to get themselves into the mentality of playing and winning. They were able to showcase the skill that they had, and their teamwork and ability.”

ACS’ starters of Daniel Yang, Joseph Yang, Raffy Cai, Cheng, Li, and Escarlan, are promoting to high school, so their bench will move up and their whole team will restart next season.

Pang thanked NMIVA, PSS Athletics Program, everyone that was involved in the league, and the schools and coaches who participated.

He then said that volleyball in the CNMI is going places. “These are middle school students. Imagine what they’ll be like in high school. I’m excited to see the full potential of all the students on the island as a whole. Maybe in the near future, we could see Saipan becoming a powerhouse in volleyball in the Oceania region. That’s something I’m hoping to see, and it starts from here with the grassroots.”