{"id":408792,"date":"2024-05-13T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=408792"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"3-peat-for-undefeated-Dolphins-in-boys-v-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/3-peat-for-undefeated-Dolphins-in-boys-v-ball\/","title":{"rendered":"3-peat for undefeated Dolphins in boys v-ball"},"content":{"rendered":"

The undefeated Marianas High School Dolphins are now back-to-back-to-back champions after defeating Saipan International School Geckos in the finals of the NMIVA-Public School System Boys High School Volleyball League 2023-2024 last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins sported the only undefeated run of the season after winning all eight regular season games, and beating every team in their path during the playoffs.<\/p>\n

They first cruised past Kagman High School, then Saipan Southern High School, then SIS to clinch the first finals spot.<\/p>\n

In the finals against the Geckos, the Dolphins, who handed the Geckos their only loss in the regular season, wreaked havoc on their full court matchup. While they played at the half court of the MHS gym in the regular season, the playoffs were set at the Ada Gym.<\/p>\n

Even with the bigger layout, the Dolphins were as comfortable and in sync as they cruised through the first set, 21-14.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins\u2019 rotation of Nehemiah and Yeshaiah Coleman, Mokyang Kim, Juruel Magtalas, Lowell Lumauag, Jerome Manzon, K.C. Nuyles, Dylan Salalila, Alex Kim, Jasper Hall, Seth Balakrishna, Raja Sevugan, Jonathan Sheu, and Mino Chuweiluk didn\u2019t let up as they bumped, set, and spiked their way closer to the championship.<\/p>\n

In the second set, SIS regrouped and gave MHS a run for their money. Omari Joab, Casey Chambers, Sui Yi, Christian Newman, Ian Song, William Sosa, Dwight Crisostomo, and Kyle Kramer kept the pace and the first points up until the 10th were all draws.<\/p>\n

However, after a timeout later in the match, the Dolphins commanded the serves and shortened the rallies in their favor from their hard-hitting kills at the net, to seal the win, 21-16.<\/p>\n

After the awards ceremony, MHS coach Don Marshall Cabrera was interviewed and said that the team\u2019s undefeated record and their third championship in a row was a testament to their hard work and collective effort.<\/p>\n

They had a fairly new squad from last season and said that they had to \u201cfigure out a way to gel with each other. But in the end, they were able to put it together and figure it out,\u201d said Cabrera.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cWe do play a little bit slow to start the game off, but when we get our gears going, we\u2019re pretty good.\u201d As for the difference between playing in a full court at Ada Gym than in a half court at the MHS gym, Cabrera said there\u2019s more room in the back to jump serve and when they need to scramble, they have to show a lot more effort and hustle for the ball.<\/p>\n

On his thoughts about SIS, he said that he\u2019s surprised. \u201cThey were even better than I thought. Last year I think they finished third or fourth place and this year they really stepped up and gave us a run for our money.\u201d<\/p>\n

For next season, it\u2019s almost a whole new team again as a majority of the team are graduating, but that \u201cI\u2019m expecting everybody to be able to step up and prove their worth and represent MHS.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then thanked the students for doing their best in class and making sure they\u2019re eligible to play; their parents for supporting them; and the school administration and the PSS Athletics program for setting the whole event up.<\/p>\n

After, Mokyang Kim, who is a senior in the team, was interviewed. He was in the JV team in his sophomore year and worked his way up to varsity. When there, he helped the team win the championship last season as well.<\/p>\n

On how he felt about winning the championship again, he said he was \u201cvery happy.\u201d He then said that he thinks next year\u2019s team can make it a 4-peat next season.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Champion team Marianas High School Dolphins poses for a group photo after winning their third title in a row after they defeated Saipan International School Geckos in two sets of the NMIVA-Public School System Boys High School Volleyball League 2023-2024 last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.<\/p>\n

-LEIGH GASES
<\/figcaption><\/figure>

<\/p>\n

Marianas High School\u2019s Mokyang Kim goes for a kill as a Saipan International School player tries to defend the net during the second set of their finals game in the NMIVA-Public School System Boys High School Volleyball League 2023-2024 last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.<\/p>\n

-LEIGH GASES
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The undefeated Marianas High School Dolphins are now back-to-back-to-back champions after defeating Saipan International School…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-408792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408792\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}