The George Washington High School Geckos shook off a sluggish first half and overwhelmed the Notre Dame High School Royals 73-51 in the Guam Basketball Confederation-Guam DOE ISA High School Boys Basketball League on Friday at GW.
The Royals, which finished the regular season at 5-6 to the Geckos’ 9-2, simply outplayed the Geckos in the first quarter.
Kai Flores, Jacob Gaje and Kaleb Benavente each hit 3-pointers, and Mateo Anderson and Gabe Duenas combined for 10 points as the Royals led 19-13 at the end of the first quarter.
“We let them play to our pace, slowed the game down a little bit and then we just went off of what they gave us,” said ND coach Vince Sablan.
The Royals defense slowed down in the second quarter, resulting in sloppy fouls. The Geckos hit just six shots in that quarter, but made up for it by hitting 9 of 14 free throws while outscoring ND 21-14, and taking a 34-33 lead into halftime.
Jaydin Martinez said that the Gecko coach gave a halftime talk that fired up the team. Sakisan Orichiro stepped up his defense and turned playmaker for GW, dishing dimes to his brother Kairos Orichiro as well as a couple to big man Darnell Camacho. Camacho and big man teammate Genesis Babauta patrolled the paint, leaving few chances for the Royals to grab rebounds.
The Geckos stomped on the gas pedal for a flurry of points, boosted by a defense that created turnovers and instant offense.
GW outscored ND 22-9 in the third quarter, building a 59-43 lead and never looked back. Guards Jace Cruz, Martinez and Peter Aguon maintained the game speed and shared the ball well, giving the second-stringers more playing time than usual.
Kairos Orichiro scored eight points in the third quarter to complement his two steals.
“He really, really wants the title,” said his brother Sakisan Orichiro.
Overall, GW clamped down on the Royals’ attempts to score down low, forcing low-percentage outside shots.
Martinez said it felt like a blessing to have both Camacho and Babauta on the court, and said they were the best 1-2 big man punch in the league.
With the John F. Kennedy High School Islanders ahead, the Geckos are looking to bounce back from a regular season loss. Martinez said that they will come to practice with intensity, then bring that same intensity to the semifinal contest.
The loss ends the Royals season but does not send them back to the drawing board. Coach Sablan said that while he loses five seniors – two of them affiliates – he has a team of mostly sophomores, including Nathan Esteves, one of two sophomores league-wide at All-Island selections last week. Esteves made Honorable Mention while Brez Cornelius from Saint Paul Christian School was voted to the All-Island 2nd Team.
“Next year, everyone is going to be in the rebuilding year,” Sablan said. “But we will be the same team.”
Camacho led GW with 20 points, including 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Cruz had 12 and Kairos Orichiro had 10 for the Geckos. Gabe Duenas scored 16 for the Royals, while Flores had 14, including three 3-pointers. Nate Esteves scored eight.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.postguam.com ’
