Older brother-younger brother battles in Rotary

Four teams from two clubs filled up the action in Wednesday’s Saipan Rotary Summer Youth Basketball League at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The San Antonio Sixers I sliced through the 69ers II like a hot knife cutting through butter in the opener, picking up their fourth win in as many chances, while the 69ers I avenged their younger brothers’ loss with a lopsided victory over the Sixers II in the nightcap.

The Sixers I sped ahead of their opponents at the get go and did not put on the brakes until the final buzzer sounded with them posting an eye-popping 156-48 rout.

Coach Ryan Nisperos’ San Antonio squad entered with their game faces on, kicked it into high gear right from tip-off, and conducted a 20-minute scoring lesson in the first half, which ended with the Sixers I already up by a hefty margin, 75-25.

Their run-and-gun style of play combined with a shooting percentage that nearly blew the roof off carried over to the second half to put the icing on the victory cake.

Rowell Aranda led San Antonio with a game-high 35 points while Jack Lizama and Kevin Cequena sizzled for 26 and 22 points. J.R Ngeskebei and Adrian Echon also had their fair share of showing their scoring skills with 21 and 19 points while Brian Flores and Allison Kaipat chipped in with 12 markers apiece.

Jake Maratita had a solid outing for the 69ers II, finishing with 23 points while Ernest Duenas pumped in 10 in a losing cause.

Determined to avenge the loss of their younger squad, the 69ers I unleashed an explosive second half performance en route to an 85-50 spanking of the Sixers II.

Josh Sablan again stole the spotlight and racked up 20 points in the first half to lead the 69ers’ attack, but the Sixers II were unshaken by the charge and kept alive a shot at pulling an upset by remaining in striking distance. At the break, the 69ers led by 10 points, 36-26.

The Sixers II were soon left in the dust as Sablan and company pushed to turbo mode and burned the net 49 points to put an end to any threat.

Sablan was the game’s top scorer with 44 points, 18 coming from beyond the three-point arc, while Shawn Fujihira supported with 18 points to lead the 69ers.

Jason Bahillo paced the Sixers II with 15 points.

Rotary action resumes Monday with Makos taking on G-Rollers I in the opener and 69ers II battling the Sparks in the second game. First game tips off at 5:30pm while the second game is scheduled to unfold at 7pm.

The G-Rollers currently lead the league with a perfect 5-0 win-loss card, while the Sixers I and the 69ers I are right behind with undefeated records of their own.

First game

Sixers I 156—Aranda 35, Lizama 26, Cequena 22, Ngeskebei 21, Echon 19, Flores 12, Kaipat 12, Ranas 9.

69ers II 48—Maratita 23, Duenas 10, Basa 9, Cangco 4, Tanaka 2.

Scoring by halves: 75-25, 156-48.

Second game

69ers I 85—J. Sablan 44, Fujihira 18, Sanchez 6, Blas 6, B. Sablan 5, Torres 4, Palacios 2.

Sixers II 50—Ja. Bahillo 15, R.J. Ferrer 8, Eclevia 6, Appelo 4, F. Palacios 4, E. Palacios 4, Kintz 3, Kaipat 2, Je. Bahillo 2.

Scoring by halves: 36-26, 85-50.