The 2013-2014 Marianas Interscholastic Sports Organization Boys Basketball League had an epic finale with Marianas High School pulling off a heart-stopping 37-36 victory over Kagman High School to clinch the varsity championship last Saturday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Mike Arciaga made the dagger with his putback in the closing seconds of the thrilling but low-scoring championship match. He collared the offensive rebound after a missed layup from Kobe Mendoza and with the clock winding down to the last 10 seconds, he went for a quick release and canned the banked shot from the right baseline about eight feet away from the basket.

After Arciaga’s conversion, Kagman pressed the panic button and was left with 8.8 seconds to orchestrate a game-winning play, but the Dolphins held strong on defense in the homestretch to break the Ayuyus’ heart.

The eventual champions read the Ayuyus’ offense well in the first inbound play, as after Jason Lampkin received the inbound pass, MHS defenders ganged up on him, forcing the Kagman center to kick the ball out to Jesse Santos. Santos, who was at the right key near the 3-point area, dribbled closer and drew a foul on Mendoza. It was a wise foul to give, as Mendoza committed the infraction before Santos pulled up for a long shot and MHS was charged for only its third foul, two more away from the limit.

With the preemptive foul, Kagman was forced to call another timeout with 2.5 seconds left on the clock. When the game resumed, Lampkin did the inbound play and got the ball to Santos, who went for a desperation triple near the top key, but was partially blocked by Mendoza.

Pandemonium broke after that last defensive stop, as the Dolphins ended their four-year title drought.

The Preston Basa-coached MHS, which incidentally defeated Kagman in the 2008-2009 finale, 76-72, before missing the varsity crown in the next four years, won this season’s title after coming out of the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament. The Dolphins, who were unbeaten in the regular season and prevailed in their first playoff game against Tinian High School, were stunned by the Ayuyus in the winner’s bracket semis, 47-70.

With the upset, Kagman advanced to the finals and earned a twice-to-beat advantage in the title showdown, while MHS had to meet Tinian anew and win to save its season. The Dolphins dethroned the Stallions, 62-39, to arrange a title duel against the well-rested Ayuyus.

Kagman and MHS played in the semis bracket in the morning (9:30), while their title match was set at 5:30pm, less than an hour before the Dolphins eliminated the Stallions. Game 1 of the finals was MHS’ third in the day and though fatigue started to take its toll on Basa’s wards, the Dolphins managed to take a 53-43 win to force a rubber match.

The deciding Game 2 was played 25 minutes after Game 1 and right at the get-go, both teams started to show signs of exhaustion. They exchanged turnovers and missed a lot of easy shots in the first period, which ended in a deadlock, 7-all.

In the second quarter, Jonathan Santos had some success in sparking Kagman’s offense, as he escaped with two fastbreak layups and scored 6 points to lift the Ayuyus to a 19-11 halftime lead. However, the Dolphins quickly erased the deficit in the first three minutes of the third canto with a 9-0 run capped by Mendoza’s triple. A Jonathan Santos short jumper swung the lead back to Kagman, which then went on a 7-2 windup in the last two minutes of the third for a precarious 28-26 lead.

The Ayuyus kept the shaky 2-point advantage in the last two minutes of the match and could have gained more cushion, as they took two point-blanked shots, following a series of helter-skelter plays for around 30 seconds. However, Jonathan Santos muffed a layup, while Andrew Palino overshot a putback, and finally MHS grabbed the rebound, but lost the leather anew to Mel Sakisat off a wayward pass from Arciaga. Luckily for the Dolphins, Mendoza intercepted Sakisat’s jump-pass to Palino, who was later called for a foul on Irvin Malonzo, as the Kagman guard tried to get the ball back.

The Ayuyus were over the limit, sending Malonzo to the 15-foot line. The Dolphins quarterback missed his first charity, but made the second to move MHS within one, 35-36, 1:15 left on the clock.

A missed baseline jumper from Michael Muna returned possession to MHS, but gave it away, as Arciaga was charged with a traveling violation on a spin move against Lampkin. Kagman then sued for time with 45.4 seconds left.

When the game resumed, Malonzo made a big defensive stop, as he picked Lampkin’s pocket after the inbound play at the left sideline. It was a double black eye for Lampkin, as he was also called for a foul while trying to retrieve the ball from Malonzo, who faltered the two charities.
Prince Factor took the rebound after the second miss, but was called for extra steps, as he tried to protect the ball from Kagman defenders. The Ayuyus regained possession with 30.7 seconds remaining in the game, but committed an error at the backcourt, as Jesse Santos’ pass to Muna was too strong and landed on the waiting hands of Mendoza.

Mendoza then went for the layup, but his shot was also a bit strong. Fortunately, Arciaga ran with Mendoza and beat two Kagman players for the rebound to hit the game-winning basket.

MHS 37 – Mendoza 8, Malonzo 8, Arciaga 6, Borja 4, Yap 3, Ano 2, Cayading 2, Capuyon 2, Factor 2.
KHS 36 – Jo. Santos 16, Lampkin 10, Je. Santos 8, Palino 2.
Scoring by quarters: 7-7, 11-19, 26-28, 37-36.