Far East basketball
Yokota, others survive tight contests
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NAVAL STATION, Guam – Held scoreless the entire second half, a frustrated Warren Manegan said he’d have no more of it – and in the process saved Yokota’s boys basketball season.
The senior guard netted a three-point goal as time ran out on Wednesday, giving the Panthers a 45-43 comeback win over George Washington of Guam in the first round of the Far East High School Division I Tournament playoffs.
“The team depends on me to make shots like that,” said Manegan, whose Panthers advanced to a quarterfinal date Thursday with Guam regular season-leading Okkodo.
It wasn’t Manegan’s first buzzer-beating shot, he said, but “it was the most important buzzer-beater” he’s ever made. “Ecstatic. It’s been a dream of mine since the seventh grade, to hit one like that. The team pulled it all together and trusted me to make that last shot.”
Manegan hit two three-point goals in the first quarter en route to a 14-point first half, after which the Geckos set up their defense to attack Manegan and keep him scoreless. GW outscored Yokota 14-9 in the third period and led until the game’s late stages.
The Geckos tried to run out the clock in the closing seconds, but Yokota guard Morgan Breazell stole the ball with five seconds left, dribbled upcourt and called a timeout, during which Panthers coach Tim Pujol set up a play for Manegan to take the game-winning shot on the right wing.
It was one of several close calls endured by teams throughout the Pacific as the Division I and Division II tournament playoffs began:
¬¬-- Defending Boys D-I champion Kubasaki, saddled by foul trouble, needed a 14-6 third quarter to pull away and then hung on to beat Simon Sanchez of Guam 37-35.
¬¬-- Nile C. Kinnick of Japan outscored 2010 champion Kadena 15-9 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 43-40 win. It’s the first time the Panthers exited the title chase in the first round since 1994.
¬¬-- Kinnick’s girls, an up-and-coming No. 3 in the DODDS Japan standings, nearly suffered the boys’ fate, edging John F. Kennedy of Guam 33-31 in the D-I Tournament at Yokota. Guam’s girls season has been over for nearly two months.
¬¬-- Matthew C. Perry’s girls, behind Rebekah Harwell’s 26 points, scored their first win in 10 years over Morrison Academy, 40-36 in the Girls D-II Tournament at Misawa Air Base, Japan.
¬¬-- Host Robert D. Edgren’s girls needed a 15-10 fourth quarter and 22 points from Jen Black to keep a tenacious Yongsan International-Seoul squad at bay, beating the Guardians 59-53.
-- Daegu’s boys rallied in similar fashion, outscoring Osan American 18-10 in the fourth period and getting 20 points from Darius Wyche for a 50-47 win in the D-II Tournament at Camp Zama, Japan.
The first defending champion to exit a Far East tournament was St. Paul Christian’s girls of Guam, which lost to E.J. King 42-17 and YIS-Seoul 36-23. The Warriors lost their big three of Jaymee Cruz, Sam Nauta and Momoko Ennis to graduation last year.
