The official scorekeeper, Frank Palacios, among others, said he felt a silent undercurrent of resignation running through the Trukese that day despite their outwardly display of bravado. Maybe it was the intense heat. Or the intensity of the game. Maybe magic was alive that day. Maybe magic backfired.
People remember what they want to remember.
History may change with the vagaries of people's memories, but the box score does not. Palau beat Truk 1-0.