A tap-in by senior center Milan Marinkovic in the closing seconds gave the Cooperative boys varsity basketball team a 42-40 victory over Cambridge in the Jaguar gym Thursday.
The final score represented the first time that the Jaguars had been ahead in the entire game, but it was the right time. The game was regarded with awe by those who saw it. Experienced fans thought it the most exciting played in the League in years. "I wish I had filmed it," said one Jaguar player afterward.
The Knights were playing without their big 9th grade center Luis Mercado, who had scored 25 points in Cambridge's decisive win over Christian Learning last week. According to teammates, Mercado was missing because he had to prepare for two big tests Friday. Under the circumstances, Cambridge may also have been guilty of taking Cooperative too lightly -- but for much of the game it looked like they would win anyway.
Cambridge seemed to dominate the first half, at the end of which they owned an eleven point lead, 24-13. At the start they had jumped out to a 10-2 lead paced by flashy drives by lunior Celso Moscoso and sophomore Andres Hurtado.
Cooperative cut into the Cambridge advantage by scoring the first several baskets of the second half, and the Jaguar defense improved, leading to some easy baskets on fast breaks. Looked at strategically, however, what Cambridge did was basically to maintain that early early eight-point lead lead -- widening it a little here, shortening it a little there -- until the final four minutes of the game when the Knights eight-point lead was suddenly slashed to two with six unanswered points by the Jaguars.
Marinkovic, the tallest man on the court (and the League high jump record holder) was now taking full charge of the Jaguar offense.Earlier in the game Cambridge had been able to keep the ball away from him, but now seemed to have it all the time.
Twice in the second half he scored ten oints in a row, and he tallied ten of Cooperative's final twelve points, with senior Nicolas Suarez chipping in the penultimate basket. Tickets could probably be sold to fans wanting to find out if he can do the same against Mercado when the two teams meet again three weeks from now at Cambridge.
The Knights stopped the bleeding, however, at two points, and got clutch baskets of their own from Juan Carlos Paniagua and Hurtado. With a minute to play they were holding a four-point lead, 40-36.
That lead, however, was erased in the next thirty seconds or so by Marinkovic and Suarez, tying the score at 40-40.
With the clock rapidly clicking off the final seconds Cambridge tried to bring the ball downcourt and work for the final shot of the game, but Jaguar Josue Abuawad stole the ball and the Jaguars were once again on the attack. A long set shot attempt kicked out to Marinkovic, who put it in the hoop to give the Jaguars the victory.
Marinkovic scored a total opf 32 points, 24 of them in the second half. His individual scoring total was probably a League record, though scribes are still scrambling through the resord books. Abuawad had four, Suarez, Andre Shin, and Giorgio Rodrigano had two points each.
For Cambridge, Andre Hurtado was high man with ten. Juan Carlos Paniagua had nine; Celso Moscoso had seven, Massa Ueno and Gustavo Roca had six, and Santiago Hurtado two.
After slow start, Eagles demolish Griffins 42-13
The Christian Learning boys varsity basketball team started slowly, but finished strong, in defeating International at the International gym Thursday 42-13.
The game looked at first as if it would be a tight battle, with the first quarter ending with the score tied at 6 to 6.
Cesar Flores accounted for five of the Eagles points. He drove to the basket successfully twice, and was fouled on his first attempt, give him a chance to shoot a foul shot, which he did, completing a three-point play. Haziel Martinez made a foul shot for the sixth point.
International got four points by Sebastian Velasco, and two by Eric Takayama.
The Eagles began to take charge of the game in the second quarter. Martinez continued to have a hot hand, and Jose Aldana contributed four points as the Christian Learning team took a 16-9 lead at halftime.
It was the Christian Learning defense that really put the Eagles in the driver’s seat, as they held the Griffins to a single point in the third period, while the Eagles scored ten, moving to a commanding g 26-10 lead that seemed the break the Griffins spirits.
The Eagles continued to play eximious defense in the final quarter while also making their best offensive effort, scoring 16 points, as they cruised to a 42-18 win.
For the Eagles, Flores tallied 15 points; Josiah Canaviri had 11, Jose Aldana 10; Haziel Martinez 4, and Sami Frith 2.
