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WITH the bleachers filled with family, friends, and basketball fans, the Tamuning Gym was loud as cheers could be heard from a distance during games in the 2012 Summer Jam Basketball League.
In a scheduled mid-afternoon game, the Inarajan Heat and Tamuning Typhoons II went head-to-head in the 8-under division. Both teams entered the game boasting an undefeated (3-0) record. However, only one undefeated team could remain at the end of the game. After 30 minutes of action, it was the Typhoons II who edged out the Heat 20-18.
In the opening minutes of the first half, Inarajan had no problems opening a 6-0 lead backed by the aggressive shooting of Dustin Cabrera and Joshua Meno. Tamuning was finally able to put a halt to the hot-shooting Heat when Kaia Malakooti nailed a short jumper from about 10 feet. With less than five minutes left in the first half, Meno made a layup after a sweet drive to the basket to up the Inarajan lead to 8-2. However, Malakooti took control in the final minutes before the break and converted back-to-back baskets. Going into the halftime break, the Heat clung on to a slight 8-6 lead.
Inarajan wasted no time in the second half getting things started and upped their lead to 12-6. Less than 15 seconds into the period, Meno hit a shot from mid-range. On the ensuing play, Meno nabbed a Tamuning pass and went the distance of the court for the easy layup. Midway through the half, the Typhoons made a move and stormed up a six-point run to equalize the game at 12-12. Malakooti and teammate Justin Joseph were credited with all six points in the mini-surge.
Immediately recognizing the confidence booster for the Typhoons, Inarajan coach John Taitague was forced to call a timeout. The brief stop proved to work as the Heat came back on the court to score two straight baskets to regain a 16-12 lead. Koby Taimanglo and Caulin Mantanona converted one basket apiece.
With less than four minutes left in the game, Joseph came up big for the Typhoons and scored four straight points to knot the game for the second time at 16-16. On the other end of the floor, Taimanglo used his size advantage from the inside to give Inarajan an 18-16 lead with little over a minute left. Malakooti answered back by sinking a baseline jumper to make it an 18-18 game. The Heat had two opportunities to take the lead as the seconds wound down. However, a key steal by the Typhoons allowed for Joseph to take the ball coast-to-coast for an easy layup that gave his team a 20-18 lead. The Heat weren’t able to get off another shot as the buzzer sounded to end the game, giving them their first loss of the season.
Other results
- 8-under Coed: Sixers Club defeated Tamuning Typhoons I, 24-0; and Asan Maina Rai defeated MTM Falcons, 18-16.
- 10-under Coed: Inarajan Heat defeated Tamuning Typhoons, 18-16; and Asan Maina Rai defeated Sixers Club, 26-16.
- 14-under Coed Recreational: Cobras I defeated Tamuning Typhoons, 57-29; Inarajan Heat defeated Golden Eagles, 53-12; and Asan Maina Rai defeated Cobras II, 48-17.
