HMS reclaims boys basketball title

The perpetual trophy of the PSS-NMIBF Boys Middle School Basketball League is back with the Hilitais of Hopwood Middle School after they defeated Francisco M. Sablan Middle School Napu Riders, 38-30, ending FMS’ two-year championship streak on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

It was a back-and-forth game with both teams sinking their shots, but HMS began to pull away towards the end of the first half. HMS coupled their offense with defense, putting up blocks and causing turnovers that they then capitalized for baskets. By the end of the first half, HMS led, 16-12, with Salman Kamal leading the team with six markers.

In the second half, FMS made a push and came out more aggressively—and in no time, turned the lead in their favor, 28-24. However, Kamal fouled out and it was up to the rest of the HMS squad to make the plays.

From there, HMS went on a shooting spree and retook the lead, 31-28, with 3:45 on the clock. FMS finally made a basket to get within one, 30-31 at 1:44 left. But, HMS went on another hot streak and scored eight straight points with the help of Jeno Pino, Sam Taguiam, DK Pino, and Reyong Rasiang. When the final buzzer sounded, the final score was 38-30.

Jeno Pino led HMS with 15 points, while Salman Kamal scored 10.

Third place went to Dandan Middle School as they beat Chacha Oceanview Middle School, 27-24.

Coach D.J. Taitano said of their game, “I would say the first half of the game, we knew FMS was going to come out fast… so we just had to remind the boys why they were here and what they came to do.”

With the team not making it to the finals last year, he said, “last year, we fell short and so to come back this year and be able to win the championship, it’s pretty awesome.”

HMS coach Connie Camacho said of their win, “It feels really great to bring this perpetual trophy back to Hopwood.” Camacho shared that their roster this year consists of a majority of 8th graders, but they still have a good pool of players that they look forward to training.

Camacho then gave a shoutout to the players’ parents and FMS for giving them a good game, while Taitano also thanked the fans for cheering them on.