Tinian moves into first place, No Zone wins

Tinian continued to stretch its winning streak and moved into first place in the team standings, while defending champion No Zone was sharp as action in the ongoing 2006 Inter-Government Basketball League continued Thursday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Tinian again got solid production from John Santos and Anthony Borja and held off a late charge by CPA-ARFF Fire Dawgs for a 106-96 victory.

Santos drilled eight triples and finished with 28 points, Borja went off for 24 points, and Jess Manibusan added 15 points to lead Tinian to its 10th win in 12 games to move a half game ahead of Department of Labor in the league standings.

The Fire Dawgs kept close in the early goings as one-two punch Jerome Reyes and Jawn Joyner took care of much of the team’s offensive load to prevent Tinian from breaking the game open at the break, 49-56.

The Fire Dawgs, however, were not able to keep pace as Tinian broke loose for 31 points in the third period, while limiting their opponents to 18 points for a 20-point spread with 10 minutes left in regulation, 87-67.

Joyner and Reyes tried to lead ARFF back into contention and pushed the team within 10 points before the sound of the final buzzer.

Reyes finished with 43 points, while Joyner supported him with 27 points for ARFF.

Earlier, No Zone was given a good run before hitting high gear and sped away from Office of the Public Auditor for a 93-76 victory.

John Sablan led No Zone with 20 points, Ned Norita and Ed Diaz pumped in 19 and 18 points, and Juan Diaz added 12 points.

Chris Camacho and Robert Torres led OPA with 31 and 23 points.

Meanwhile, Edgar Pangelinan of Procurement and Supply still leads the league in scoring, averaging 31.4 points per game after punching in 345 points in 11 outings.

Right behind him is Reyes, who has scored 307 points in 10 games for an average of 30.7 points per game, while Steve Rasa of Labor follows with an average of 28.8 after knocking down 288 points in 10 games.

Diaz is No. 4 on the list with 306 points in 12 games for an average of 25.5, while Joyner sits with 261 points in 11 games to average 23.8 points per game.

Rounding up the Top 10 are Taj Van Buren of Public School System (21.7), Ray Duenas of Legislature (21.3), Romeo Iginoef of Department of Community and Cultural Affairs (20.2), John Sablan (19.2), and Joe Ito of Department of Public Safety (18.3).

First Game

No Zone 93 – Jo. Sablan 20, Norita 19, E. Diaz 18, J. Diaz 12, Hocog 7, Ayuyu 4, Ja. Sablan 4, Kiyoshi 3, Cruz 2, Manalili 2, Quitugua 2.

OPA 76 – C. Camacho 31, Torres 23, Dela Cruz 9, Sasamoto 9, J. Camacho 4.

Scoring by quarters: 19-18, 43-41, 70-57, 93-76.

Referees: Arnold Mesa and Eric Artillaga.

Second Game

Tinian 106 – Jo. Santos 28, A. Borja 24, Manibusan 15, Manglona 12, L. Pascua 10, San Nicolas 7, Sablan 6, Epity 2, Ju. Santos 2.

CPA-ARFF 96 – Reyes 43, Joyner 27, Torres 8, C. Cepeda 6, Mizutani 4, Duenas 2, P. Cepeda 2, Camacho 2, Ada 2.

Scoring by quarters: 25-20, 56-49, 87-67, 106-96.

Referees: Gilbert Espinosa and Jess Pacheco.