Saturday, February 24, 2001

From Stripes and special reports

Mark Oliva / Stars and Stripes Kubasaki's Nikki McGraw looks for the open shot during Thursday's quarterfinal matchup during the Far East Regionals on Okinawa.

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Kubasaki’s girls basketball team has slain the dragon of the Far East Tournament.

Anna Chambers scored 13 points as Kubasaki rallied from a 29-22 fourth-quarter deficit for a 38-34 victory over Faith Academy.

The quarterfinal loss knocked the Vanguards from the Far East Class AA (large schools) Tournament, ending a five-year title run. Faith has won the past four Class AA tournaments and the Class A (small schools) Tournament in 1996.

It looked as if Faith would continue its march toward a sixth straight title in the early stages of Thursday’s quarterfinal game.

"It didn’t look good for 3½ quarters," Kubasaki coach Jim Hall said.

Faith started the fourth quarter hitting back-to-back baskets, forcing Hall to call a timeout.

"I told the girls they worked too hard to get this far, but they could be playing for fifth and sixth place if they don’t play ball," Hall said. "They had to decide to play ball the whole time."

With Faith clamping down on Kubasaki post players Nikki McGraw and Courtney Smith, the Dragons turned to Chambers and shooting guard Jamie Jenkins, who put Kubasaki ahead 35-34 in the closing seconds.

"Jamie shot 2-for-7, but she never hit a bigger basket than the one that put us ahead," Hall said.

Donovan Brooks / Stars and Stripes Father Duenas Friars' William Stinett drives Thursday against Southern High School defenders. The Friars won, 48-23.

Point guard Shakyra Walker finished with seven points. Faith’s Carolyn Tanchi led all scorers with 16 points and Jenna Cutts added 10.

In Friday’s semifinals, Kubasaki faced Christian Academy In Japan, who rallied past Kadena 42-39.

In another quarterfinal, Robert D. Edgren outlasted Taiwan’s Morrison Christian Academy 45-42. Edgren faced a semifinal clash with Nile C. Kinnick, a 38-34 victor over Zama American.

On the boys’ side, defending Class AA champion Faith continued to march toward a second straight title by trouncing George Washington of Guam 68-43 in the round of 16.

Tokyo’s St. Mary’s International rallied for a 46-38 upset of Seoul American, while Christian Academy knocked off Guam’s Simon Sanchez.

In the Girls Class A (small schools) Tournament, Osan American stayed on track for the school’s first Far East title in any sport and improved to 7-0 with a 41-32 victory over E.J. King.

Also in the winners’ bracket were Taegu American and Seisen International.

In the Boys Class A Tournament, St. Paul Christian needed a 6-0 run to rally past host Taegu 54-51.

St. Paul’s posted a 75-47 triumph over Matthew C. Perry, setting up a winners’ bracket final with E.J. King. The Cobras and Warriors entered Friday’s play 8-0 in the tournament.

Taegu, meanwhile, stayed alive in the losers’ bracket, edging the Seoul International Tigers 67-65 in overtime.

Thursday's game summaries

Class AA girls

at Camp Foster, Japan

Quarterfinals

Edgren 45, Morrison 42: Lauren White scored 14 points and Desirae Riddick added 11 as the Eagles worked the inside against the Mustangs. Robin Siirilla of Morrison led all scorers with 20.

Kinnick 38, Zama 34: Katreem Palmer scored 13 points and Jessica Jackson added 11 for the Devils, who trailed most of the way. The Trojans, who lost three players to injuries, were led by Rosanna Ignaucio’s 12 points.

CAJ 42, Kadena 39: Kirsten Nelson scored 12 points to rally the Knights past the Panthers, who were led by Sheneka Lee’s 13 points.

Consolation

JFK 65, Southern 22: Jackie Mante and Jocelyn Pardilla each poured in 18 points and Christine Vicente added 15 for the Islanders. Leah Candaso topped the Dolphins with 13.

ASIJ 40, Guam High 5: Anna Clark paced the Mustangs with 14 points.

Yokota 37, Academy 20: The Panthers eliminated the Cougars behind an 11-point performance by Tomiko Johnson.

Hong Kong 32, Seoul American 31: Rachel Koehneke scored 15 points for the Dragons. Erika Taylor’s 10 points led the Falcons.

Class AA boys

at Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station, Guam.

Round of 16

Kubasaki 54, Kinnick 49: Sam Roy scored 18 points to power the Dragons into the quarterfinals. John Williams’ 13 points led the Red Devils.

St. Mary’s 46, Seoul American 38: Led by Nick Varner’s 14 points, the Titans staged a fourth-quarter rally to hand the Falcons their first loss of the tournament. The Falcons got 14 points from Kevin Furby.

Faith 68, George Washington 43: Steve Krueger poured in 19 points as the Vanguards outscored the Geckos 42-17 in the second and third quarters. Ty Grossman added 12 points and Darren Meisel scored 11.

Zama 60, ASIJ 43: Dan Duplessis sparked the Trojans to the quarterfinals with 14 points. Mike Artiss and Gen Belcher each had eight for the Mustangs.

CAJ 46, Simon Sanchez 35: Caleb Cummings had 14 points and Matt Regier added 13 as the Knights’ perimeter attack sank the Sharks. Simon Sanchez got 12 each from Ron Conner and Jesus Medina.

Kadena 62, Guam High 35: Kadena reached its fourth straight quarterfinal round.

Yokota 59, St. John’s 51: Gabe Lombard scored 34 points in a loss to the Panthers.

Father Duenas 48, Southern 23: Francis Reyes had 17 points to ensure the Friars would remain Guam’s only team in title contention.

Consolation

Kinnick 54, St. John’s 49: Brussel Bungay poured in 21 points to keep the Devils alive in the chase for fifth place. Lombard had 25 points in his last game for the Knights.

JFK 37, Guam High 32: The Islanders eliminated the Panthers from fifth-place contention behind Jay Mercado’s 11 points. Alonzo Pride led Guam High with 11 points.

Edgren 69, George Washington 64: After losing its first five games, the rejuvenated Eagles continued a surge by eliminating the Geckos.

Simon Sanchez 57, Seoul American 49: Marlon Simbulan’s 28 points helped the Sharks avenge a pool-play loss to the Falcons, who were led by Anthony Dorsey’s 15 points.

Kinnick 46, Hong Kong 38: Williams again set Kinnick’s scoring pace with 17 to eliminate the Dragons, who got 11 points from Billy Mounce.

JFK 48, ASIJ 36: The Islanders beat the Mustangs for the second time in the tournament, as Mercado scored 13 points. Artiss topped the Mustangs with 11.

Edgren 46, Southern 44: The Eagles began their long march toward fifth place by ousting the Dolphins.

Simon Sanchez 53, Marianas 47: Simbulan’s 19 points helped the Sharks knock off the winless Dolphins, who got a game-high 22 points from Jonathan Sablan.

Class A girls

at Camp Hialeah, Pusan, South Korea.

Osan American 42, E.J. King 31: After the teams were tied at halftime 18-18, the Cougars edged ahead, then slowed the tempo to keep the lead. Theresa Gittens led Osan with 14 points and Lori Shields added 10.

Seisen 27, Taegu 26: The Phoenix scored the game-winning bucket with 12 seconds left. Colleen Adkins had 12 points in a losing cause.

E.J. King 50, Seoul International 19: Christina Mercer and Maria Havens combined for 37 of the Cobras’ 50 points. Christine Ryu’s eight points led the Tigers.

Seisen 39, Matthew C. Perry 38: The Phoenix gained the first of their one-point victories Thursday. Seisen’s Shireen Seno had 13 points.

Taegu 51, Pusan 14: The Warriors broke it open by outscoring the Panthers 14-2 in the third period. Adkins had 14 points and Teresa Noble 12 for Taegu. Eighth-grader Martha Norwood had 14 boards for Pusan.

Matthew C. Perry 46, Pusan 17: The Samurai eliminated the Panthers behind 28 points from Tia Fluellen. Norwood grabbed 13 rebounds.

Class A boys

at Camp Walker, Taegu, South Korea.

Winners' Bracket

E.J. King 78, Morrison 54: Jason Cleavinger amassed for 35 points, Chris Ford had 16 points and 17 rebounds and Rahsaan Rogers added 10 points for the Cobras.

St. Paul 75, Matthew C. Perry 47: The Warriors outscored the Samurai 46-12 in the first half.

St. Paul 54, Taegu 51: Mark Dayson scored 16 points and the Warriors rallied from an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit. Scott Halasz had 21 points and Donald Holmes 14 points and 11 boards.

Losers' Bracket

Hokkaido 52, Korea JVs 33: Peter Viljoen notched 24 points and 11 rebounds and David Garza posted 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Huskies eliminated the JVs.

Taegu 67, Seoul International 65 (OT): Holmes hit both ends of a one-and-one with 3.1 seconds left to win it. Holmes ended with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Halasz added 28 points, and O’Connor had 12 points and 12 boards. Larry Bullock returned from an injury to pull down 11 rebounds for Taegu. Eugene Sohn paced the Tigers with 23 points.

Osan 81, Pusan 31: John Swanson posted a triple-double with 11 points, 16 rebounds and 15 blocked shots for the Cougars. Zac Johnson added 20 points and 15 rebounds.

TCIS 77, ICS-Uijongbu 55: Tommy Penland scored a tournament-high of 41 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, Jun Sung Choi added 13 points and Ryan Brotherton had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Dragons. Randall Kim topped the Eagles with 14 points and Blake Weaver had 12.

Contributing to this report were: Akash Shringi and Kirk Faryniasz on Guam and Olga Bograd, Rachel LaFerney, Jonathan Edwards, Clifford Alexander, Charles Sumner, Helen Berkley, Annie Das, Claudia Santibanez, Jin Nakamura and Ryan Kang in Pusan.

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