Members of the CNMI U18 pool pose for a photo before a training match in Guam early this month. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

With the CNMI U19 Boys National Team set to face three tough squads in the 2018 AFC U19 Championship Qualifiers, the Teen Ayuyus will need all the trainings they could get to keep up with their opponents.

“Right now, the boys U18 players are training three times week,” said assistant coach Jershwin Angeles, who is conducting the pool’s practices along with Jonathan Takano as Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director and head coach Michiteru Mita is still off-island.

Trainings sessions are held every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa and Koblerville Elementary School Field. The group is using the Fiesta sand court for strength and conditioning training, while team and individual drills are done at the Koblerville pitch from 4:30pm to 6:30pm or after school hours.

The Teen Ayuyus have about six months left to prepare for the 2018 AFC U19 Championship Qualifiers that will be held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 8. The Commonwealth players will be facing Australia for the first time and will also play against fellow East Asian Football Confederation members North Korea and Hong Kong.

“Obviously, North Korea and Australia are the favorites in our pool (Group J), but Hong Kong is also a tough opponent. Since we’ve never played against Australia before, we are relying on videos to study their style of play. We’re also doing some research against the other teams,” Angeles said.

The venue for the Group J qualifiers has yet to be announced, but Angeles said Australia and Hong Kong are likely to bid for the hosting rights. Eight of the other nine groups have already selected venues for their respective qualifiers. The top finisher in each pool and the five best runner-up teams along with the 2018 host country will advance to the finals.

Meanwhile, Angeles, Takano, and Mita are also preparing the CNMI U15 Boys National Team for the 2018 AFC U16 Championship Qualifiers that will be held in Thailand from Sept. 16 to 24.

Aside from the host country, the Teen Ayuyus will be squaring off against Laos, Timor-Lester, and Indonesia in the Group G qualifier.

“Just like Australia, we’ve never played against Indonesia before. All the teams that we will be facing for the first time will help our players a lot. It will be a learning experience for them and an opportunity to see how their skills would fare against players from big countries where there are many leagues and tournaments. The two AFC qualifiers will provide our players the exposure they need to continue their development, individually and collectively,” Angeles added.

The CNMI U15 players are training three times a week (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) at the Koblerville pitch and the indoor field at the TSL Sports Complex and the coaches are planning to hold two practice sessions per day as the tournament nears. They are also hoping to have another training camp off-island. Early this month, the U18 group went to Guam for training matches and won three out of their four games.

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Three runners compete in the 400m qualifying race for the 2017 PSS/McDonald’s All Schools Track and Field Championships yesterday at the Hopwood Middle School Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The qualifiers for the 2017 PSS/McDonald’s All Schools Track and Field Championships are ongoing at the Hopwood Middle School Field.

Yesterday, the organizing Northern Marianas Athletics held qualifying races in the boys and girls U7, U9, and U11’s 400m and 800m with students from Oleai Elementary School, Saipan Community School, William S. Reyes Elementary School. Agape Christian School, and Whispering Palms School scheduled to compete in the middle distance runs.

Today, the qualifiers for the boys and girls U11, U13, U15, and U18 are open to all schools. Events lined are 400m, 800m, 1,500m, and 3,000m runs and shot put and discus throw. Qualifiers in the 60m, 100m, and 200m runs and javelin throw for the same age group took place last Monday.

NMA had also set the qualifiers for the 400m, 800m, and 1,500m runs in the U7, U9, and U11 divisions for Kagman Elementary School, Koblerville Elementary School, Saipan International School, and Mount Carmel School last Tuesday, but no students showed up at the Hopwood field.

Students who missed this week and last’s trials will still have a chance to qualify for the All Schools meet that will be held from May 11 to 13. Three more qualifying days (make-ups) are scheduled with Monday’s (May 1) events (60m, 100m, 200m, and javelin) for Oleai, Brilliant Star, WSR, Agape, and Whispering Palms students. The same four events are slated for the May 2 qualifiers, but only students of Kagman, Koblerville, SIS, Whispering Palms, and Mt. Carmel will compete. For the last day of the qualifiers (May 3) U11, U13, U15, and U18 students from all schools can compete in the 60m, 100m, and 200m races, and javelin throw.

Meet director Elias Rangamar said that each student can enter as many events as they want, however he is encouraging schools to control their entries to finish the series of qualifiers before the sun sets.

Qualifiers from Saipan will be joined in the meet by Tinian and Rota students, who have already confirmed their participation to next month’s championships.

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The NMI Rollers’ Jude Tengco takes off for a layup against Mt. Carmel School’s Myles Santos during the first half of their boys U18 division game in the Diaz youth caging last Tuesday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The NMI Rollers downed Mt. Carmel School, 73-50, in the boys U18 division game in the 2017 Francisco M. Diaz Memorial Youth League last Tuesday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The NMI Rollers jumped to a 14-0 lead and never looked back for its third win.

Angelo Factor, Kenji Abobo, and Jude Tengco alternately hit baskets in the NMI Rollers’ good start, while the rest of their teammates provided support in the ensuing quarters to hand their squad a 23-point winning margin.

Abobo top-scored for the NMI Rollers with his 13 points, while Factor and Tengco also finished in twin digits with 11 and 10 markers, respectively. Four other NMI Rollers players combined for 23 points

Tony Deleon Guerrero led the MCS Knights with his 11 points, while Kiko Gamab chipped in 7.

In the other boys U18 division match this week, 670 Sonics XVIII defeated sister team 670 Sonics XVI, 52-44.

Roberto Paragados lifted the 670 Sonics XVIII to the win after scoring 11 points, 7 of them came in the second half where his squad gained cushion after the match ended in a deadlock by halftime, 18-all.

Paragados also got a lot of help in the second half with four of his teammates contributing at least 4 points apiece. In the first half, only Ronald Bernardo made more than two field goals for the 670 Sonics XVIII.

Meanwhile, the NMI Rollers and Ol’Aces Extreme won the final two games in the boys U15 division last Saturday,

The Ol’Aces Extreme escaped with a 61-59 victory over the Natibu Young Warriors, thanks to the three free throws of Justin Laniyo.

Laniyo finished with 9 points to back up Nehemiah Fernandez, who led the Ol’Aces Extreme with his 21 points. Fernandez drilled two of the Ol’Aces Extreme’s last three field goals to keep the squad in front.

Joel Norita paced the Young Warriors with his 19 markers, while Francisco Kumuch added 17.

While the Ol’Aces Extreme pulled off a close win last Saturday, it was a different story for the DYS/NMI Rollers.

DYS/NMI Rollers cruised past Agape, 68-43, after taking control of the match right from the get-go. DYS/NMI Rollers posted a 39-19 lead by halftime and never gave Agape a chance to recover.

Chico Dela Cruz stood out for DYS/NMI Rollers with his 14 points, while J.P. Cruz logged 12. Five other DYS/NMI Rollers players scored at least 5 points apiece in their easy win.

Chen Xuan Yang had 12 points for Agape.

BOYS U18
Monday Game
670 Sonics XVIII 52 — Paragados 11, Bernardo 10, Chavez 7, Bautista 5, Malasarte 4,Diyco 3, Moises 2, Garcia 1, Muna 1.
670 Sonics XVI 44 — De Guzman 10, Ordona 7, Itaas 6, Sabanagn 4, Apasan 2, Diyco 2.
Scoring by halves: 18-18, 52-44.

Tuesday Game
NMI Rollers 73 — Abobo 13, Dancoe 11, Tengco 10, Fidelino 7, Factor 6, Kisa 6, Kapwich 4, Mendoza 4.
MCS 50 — Deleon Guerrero 11, Gamab 10, Santos 7, Cepeda 5, Yun 4, Richardson 4, Kiser 4, Minami 2.
Scoring by halves: 34-24, 73-50.

BOYS U15
Second Game
Ol’Aces Extreme 61 — Fernandez 21, Laiyo 9, Lajara 6, Castro 6, Lizama 5, Tabora 5, Mizutani 5, Lim 2, Sablan 2.
Young Warriors 59 —J. Norota 19, Kumuch 17, Salilin 10, Atalig 7, Lizama 2, Malonzo 2, M. Norita 2.
Scoring by halves: 25-23, 61-59.

Third Game
DYS/NMI Rollers 68 — Dela Cruz 14, Cruz 12, Cabrera 8, Gonzales 8, Valencia 6, Factor 5, Ong 5, Tenorio 2.
Agape 43 —Yang 13, Cai 12, Bo 6, S. Xu 4, Heng 4, T. Xu 2, Zheng 2.
Scoring by halves: 39-19, 68-43.

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The Enforcers’ Tyrese Camacho gets ready to pitch against the Blue Jays during their second round game in the Senior League division of the 2017 Saipan Little League Baseball last month at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Enforcers’ Tyrese Camacho is still ahead in the batting and pitching races in the Senior League division of the 2017 Saipan Little League Baseball.

His .459 average bested 15 others who made it to the batting leaderboard. The Enforcers ace went 17-for-37 at bat to take the top spot. Camacho and the second-running Dominic Yumul of the Blue Jays are the only two batters to average at least .400 as the former went 11-for-27 for a .407 clip. The Falcons’ Spencer Dickinson (.392/11-for-28) and Camacho’s teammates’ Jode Reyes (.366/11-for-30) and Dennis Cabrera (.361/13-for-36) rounded out the Top 5.

Completing the list, which was based on 21 or more times at bat as of April 9, are the Falcons’ Henry Aguon (.333), the Enforcers’ Jose Camacho (.333), Pedro Maratita (.333), and Larson Sibetang (.321), the Falcons’ Tindin Deleon Guerrero (.312), the Enforcers’ Shakobe Rangamar (.297), and the Falcons’ Arby Yaguel (.280), Ace Evangelista (.266), Kobe Lifoifoi (.250), Noel Cabrera (.240), and Kimo Angailen (.233).

In the pitching contest, Tyrese Camacho’s 0. 45 ERA put him in the lead against four others. The Enforcers pitcher yielded only two runs in the 31 innings he pitched to pace Dickinson, who gave up one run in the 13 innings he worked the mound for a 0.53 ERA. Rangamar is ranked third (1.00 ERA) followed by the Blue Jays’ Sho Taguchi (1.10) and the Falcons’ Jester Kintaro (1.10).

Camacho, as expected, also has the most strikeouts with 44, way ahead of the 34 and 25 of Rangamar and Kintaro. The Enforcers pitcher is also on top of two more categories—RBIs (8) and runs (11). He is in a three-way tie for the most RBIs with Rangamar and Dickinson, who matched Camacho’s 11 runs. Dickinson is also in a deadlock with Rangamar for the doubles (3) and triples (2) made, while Angailen is ahead in the home run category with his two homers against the one of Aguon and Trion Sulap.

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Stephen Pawnshop’s Matt Duenas escapes from his defender for an open shot during the fourth quarter of their game against Kagman in the San Antonio summer caging last Wednesday night at the San Antonio court. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Stephen’s Pawnshop recorded a lopsided win over Kagman, 107-80, in the second game in the 2017 San Antonio Summer Basketball League last Wednesday at the San Antonio court.

Matt Duenas, Jack Aranda, and Sean Rabasto anchored Stephen’s Pawnshop easy victory as each scored 20-plus points in their fifth win in six games. Matt sizzled for 29 points, while Aranda and Rabasto contributed 21 apiece. And as if the trio’s points were not enough, big men Mii Tekopua and Gerald Flores provided support, adding 14 and 12, respectively.

With Stephen’s Pawnshop’ offense heating up early, behind the 11 points of Aranda, the winning team built a 29-14 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Then in the second period, Rabasto and Duenas teamed up and scored baskets in streaks to help Stephen’s Pawnshop pull away, 62-29.

Stephen’s Pawnshop never relinquished the big lead in the second half despite the improved shooting of Kagman. Stephen’s Pawnshop played no let up on offense in the fourth quarter as the team aimed at reaching the century mark, which it did with still a minute and change left in the one-sided game.

Trevor Ogumoro led Kagman’s losing cause with his 19 points, while Ray Babauta chipped in 10.

Meanwhile, in the first game, United Ballers showed consistency en route to an 88-80 victory over Sweep Waters.

United Ballers was in control of the match from start to finish, thanks to Bon Fabian and Sonny Marinas’ solid games. Fabian had a game-high 28 points, while Marinas recorded 22.

With Fabian and Marianas hitting their targets, United Ballers led at the end of each of the four quarters and foiled Sweep Waters’ repeated comeback bids.

First Game
United Ballers 88 — Fabian 28, Marinas 22, Gamboa 14, Jose 10, Sabiniano 5, Giean 2.

Sweep Waters 80 — Caro 19, D. Tabora 16, Montano 14, Paragados 9, Javier 9, Ordona 8, Reyes 5.

Scoring by quarters: 24-18, 47-39, 67-57, 88-80.

Second Game
Stephen’s Pawnshop 107 — M. Duenas 29, Aranda 21, Rabasto 21, Tekopua 14, Flores 12, E. Duenas 6, Lewis 5.

Kagman 80 — Ogumoro 19, R. Babauta 18, Limes 10, Lizama 8, Faisao 7, Camacho 4, Leighley 4, Iguel 2, Pengalinan 2.

Scoring by quarters: 29-14, 62-29, 86-53, 107-80.

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Nineteen players have been selected to represent the CNMI to the 2017 North Pacific Regional Championships that will be held in Guam in June.

Named to the CNMI Junior National Team are U16’s Michael Ren, Ken Song, Vincent Tudela, Grace Choi, and Malika Miyawaki; U14’s Sean Lee, Ram Ryu, Eugene Park, Andy Kim, Richard Steele, and Maria Gregoire; and U12’s Daniel Kang, Anthony Gregoire, Andrew Chung, Jiwoong Kwon, Jillian Christi Ferrer, Anika Camacho, Helen Kim, and Hyejin Elliot.

The Commonwealth bets will be battling players from Guam, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia for slots on the North Pacific Team that will compete in the 2017 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji in August.

Members of the elite squad were chosen based on their performance in the four tournaments under Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association’s calendar of events for 2016-2017. Each player received ranking points in both the singles and doubles events of the TanHoldings Tennis Classic, Coconut Tennis Classic, Junior Fun Tournament, and the recently concluded CNMI Junior Tennis Championships.

Song gained 1,750 ranking points to finish second behind Lee (2,000), while Tudela and Ren collected 1,350 and 1,000 points to place fourth and fifth in the boys U16 rankings, respectively.

In the girls U16, Miyawaki earned 1,000 points to finish second behind Tania Tan (1,200), who will not be able to join POJC due to school commitments. In place of Tan was Choi who was ranked third in the U18 division with her 1,500 points, but is still eligible to play in the lower age group.

In the boys U14, Lee also got the most points with 3,500 after topping the TanHoldings Tennis Classic, White Coconut Classic, and CNMI Junior Tennis Championships. Ryu came in next with his 3,200, while Park, Kim, and Steele rounded out the Top 5 after recording 2,275, 1,900, and 1,650 ranking points, respectively.

In the girls U14, Gregoire is the Commonwealth’s lone entry in the division in Guam and also topped the NMITA rankings after gaining 3,100 points. If Gregoire makes the grade in the June tournament, she will join siblings Conatsu and Coume Kaga, who are still training in Fiji and have already earned spots to the POJC along with boys U16 defending champion Robbie Schoor.

In the U12 age group, Kang and Ferrer will lead the CNMI Junior Team after ruling the rankings list. Kang was awarded 3,750 ranking points to beat the 2,550 of Gregoire, the 2,325 of Chung, and the 2,225 of Kwon. Ferrer, on the other hand, posted 3,875 to prevail against fellow North Pacific Regional Championship-bound Camacho (3,100), Kim (2,100), and Elliot (2,100). Elliot earned the last spot on the group after pulling off an upset over Ferrer in the CNMI Junior Tennis Championships last week.

The mix of returnees and newcomers on the CNMI Junior Tennis Team will have a tough task ahead in the tournament in Guam as they will be pressed to keep the Commonwealth’s domination in the NPRC.

Last year, the CNMI gained 17 slots on the North Pacific Team and Robbie Schorr and Miyawaki won the boys U14 singles and doubles (with Ken Song) and girls U14 singles and doubles (with Conatsu) events played here.

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A Braves runner slides home during their game against McDonald’s in the first round of the Major division of the 2017 Saipan Little League Baseball at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Braves took a short route to victory against McDonald’s, 16-5, in the Major division game in the 2017 Saipan Little League Baseball last Saturday at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.

The Braves earned the win via 10-run mercy rule after only four innings as they scored 11 runs at the top of the fourth.

Patrick Celis led the Braves’ surge in the fourth inning, as he went 2-for-2 at bat, scored two runs, and made three RBIs. Jylon Sablan and Taisei Desebel added two runs apiece with the former also posting one RBI.

Before their run rush at the top of the fourth, the Braves were only ahead by 3, 5-2, after three complete innings. Desebel gave the Braves their first run off a McDonald’s error in the opening inning. The Braves then were scoreless at the top of the second, while Ton Acosta and L.J. Reyes tallied one RBI each at the bottom to put McDonald’s on top.

However, McDonald’s stay in the driver’s seat was just temporary, as the Braves reclaimed the upper hand at the top of the third, 5-2, thanks to Jeff Borja, Heath Camacho, Desebel, and Sablan’s run. The Braves were not done yet, as after their leadoff batter was struck out, the last eight at the top of the order reached and three even scored twice to pad their lead, 16-2.

Now behind by double digits, McDonald’s needed to score at least five runs to extend the game. It came up two runs short, as Sablan struck out Joe Deleon Guerrero for the third and final out, leaving one McDonald’s runner stranded.

Meanwhile, in the other game in the division, Bank of Saipan had a repeat against the Twins, 12-10.

Bank of Saipan, which downed the Twins in their first meeting (22-17), got off to a good start to make it two in a row against the latter.

A seven-run top of the first gave Bank of Saipan the lead and enough cushion against the several comeback bids of the Twins. Bank of Saipan scored three earned runs in the first inning, two off passed balls and two more from the Twins’ miscues.

The Twins then countered with three runs at the bottom of the first and remained in contention when they also hit the board in the next five innings. The Twins threatened Bank of Saipan after their leadoff batter reached off a bunt with only one out. However, the Twins fell short in the end, as Francisco Delos Santos was tagged out going to third and Bank of Saipan pitcher Jay Reyes struck out E.J. Aldan.

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JSN/Cell Pro’s Syl Teregeyo, left, drives against Kagman’s Brandon Babauta during the fourth quarter of their game in the San Antonio summer caging last Friday at the San Antonio court. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

JSN/Cell Pro saved its best for last to pound Kagman, 91-72, in the second game in the 2017 San Antonio Summer Basketball League last Friday at the San Antonio court.

JSN/Cell Pro scored its most points (26) in the match in the fourth canto to take the 19-point victory against the skidding Kagman.

The JSN/Cell Pro’ breakaway in the final frame started at the 7:34 mark after Kagman cut the former’s advantage to single digit, 57-65. JSN/Cell Pro launched a pivotal 13-0 run to post its biggest lead in the game, 78-57. Ben Lisua had 5 points in that rally, while Jerome Norita chipped in 4, and Syl Teregeyo, and Celio Bisana added 2 apiece.

A floater from Trevor Ogumoro ended Kagman’s four-minute silence. However, that was not enough to spark a late comeback, as JSN/Cell Pro kept going and nailed several easy baskets in the end to keep the double-digit spread.

Lisua top-scored for JSN/Cell Pro with his 16 points, while four of his teammates also recorded double figures. Alex Escano registered 15 markers, Bisana tallied 14, and Teregeyo and Alfred Rosario logged 19 apiece. Preston Basa and Norita combined for 15 more points in JSN/Cell Pro’s balance offense.

Ogumoro led all scorers with his 20 points, while Edwin Camacho and Ray Babauta added 12 each.

Meanwhile, in the first game, Arianne Fish Mart also routed Cuadro PS, 107-76.

Arianne Fish Mart made past the century mark and walloped its foe, thanks to Ken Viray’s explosive start. The Arianne Fish Mart gunner dropped 21 of his 31 points in the first period to give his team a commanding 33-12 advantage.

Cuadro PS never got out of the deep hole despite neutralizing Viray in the ensuing quarters, as other Arianne Fish Mart players stepped up to ensure the easy win for their squad.

Ramon Mungcal and Elgene Mangali picked up where Viray left off, posting 21 and 17 points, respectively. Art Salazar and Chris Lilles also helped out, contributing 10 points each.

While Arianne Fish Mart had multiple options on offense, it was the opposite for Cuadro PS, as the latter relied heavily on Sid Quan, who scored 21 points.

First Game
Arianne Fish Mart 107 — Viray 31, Mungcal 21, Mangali 17, Salazar 10, Lilles 10, Inos 6, Guiang 4, Flores 2.
Cuadro PS 76 — Quan 21, Estolas 12, Rivera 10, Leyco 8, Ferrer 7, Gontar 4, Velasco 4, Directo 3, Manzano 3.
Scoring by quarters: 33-12, 53-35, 82-56, 107-76.

Second Game
JSN/Cell Pro 91 —Lisua 16, Escano 15, Bisana 14, Teregeyo 10, Al. Rosario 10, Basa 8, Norita 7, Ar. Rosario 2, Alegre 2, De Guzman 2, Andrew 2.
Kagman 72 — Ogumoro 20, Camacho 12, R. Babauta 12, Pangelinan 7, Limes 6, Wayne 4, Leighley 4, Sablan 4, Besong 2.
Scoring by quarters: 21-17, 44-31, 65-53, 91-72.

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Three Shirley’s Football Club Girls U15 players surround Kanoa-1 FC’s Jim Kurt Maniago during the closing minutes of their title game in the FA Boys and Girls Cup 2017 held last Saturday at the Hopwood Middle School Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Finally, Shirley’s Football Club will have its name on display in the perpetual trophy after ruling the FA Boys and Girls Cup 2017 held last Saturday at the Hopwood Middle School Field.

Shirley’s FC Girls U15 gave the club its first FA Cup (for boys U12 and girls U15 age group) following a 1-0 triumph over Kanoa FC-1 U12 in the championship game of the single-elimination tournament. With the title victory, Shirley’s joins MP United U12 (2011, 2013, and 2016 winner), Matansa U12 (2012), Paire U12 (2014), and Matansa U15 Girls (2015) in the champions circle.

Katrina Costales scored the winning goal for Shirley’s just six minutes before the 30-minute match wrapped up. Credit half of the goal to Jerlyn Castillo, who made the pass. Castillo attacked and found herself surrounded by Kanoa FC-1 U12 defenders at the center of the box. With Kanoa players ganging up on her, she swung the ball to her right with the unguarded Costales waiting and then knocking in the cross to draw first blood.

Now down with the clock ticking, Kanoa FC-1 U12 was pressured to go all out on offense and had a couple of chances to knot the count. The closest one came with about two minutes left in the game when Jim Kurt Maniago broke away from two Shirley’s defenders and unloaded a shot, which he missed as the ball went out wide to the right.

It was a sorry loss for Kanoa FC-1 U12, which came from an impressive 4-0 victory against co-ed U12 champion TanHoldings FC in the semifinals. Four different players hit the board for Kanoa FC-1 U12 in the semis with Markus Toves giving the squad its first goal just two minutes into the game. Kanoa FC-1 U12’s last three goals were then made in the second half with Andrew Sablan finding the back of the net in the 18th minute and Sean Gil and Maniago doing the same in the 25th and 27th, respectively.

In the other semis pairing, Costales was also the one who lifted Shirley’s to victory against MP United U12 after she nailed a goal four minutes before the game ended.

Shirley’s was in Pool B of the 11-team field and was seeded in the group along with TanHoldings U12, Kanoa Girls U15 and MP United U12 for finishing in the Top 2 in their respective age group competition in the NMIFA Youth Spring League.

The eventual FA Cup champion was then paired against TanHoldings Girls U15 for its first match and Shirley’s posted a 2-1 victory to set up a semis showdown against MP United U12. Before losing, TanHoldings Girls U15 defeated Kanoa-2 U12 in penalty shootout, 5-3, to advance against Shirley’s, while MP United prevailed against Southern United, 2-0, in the opening game in Pool B.

In Pool A, the unseeded Kanoa-1 U12 earned three wins to make it to the finals. It first shut down Paire Girls U15, 3-0 and then topped Kanoa Girls U15, 1-0, to arrange a semis duel against TanHoldings U12. TanHoldings U12, on the other hand, blanked MP United Girls U15, 3-0, to move a win away from marching into the finals. However, TanHoldings bowed to Kanoa-1 U12 and had to settle for the third place honors after edging MP United U12 in the consolation game, 1-0.

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Workers pave the Oleai Sports Complex’s track oval with black rubber granules yesterday. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The wet pour surface has been laid at the Oleai Sports Complex’s track oval and is expected to be completed early next week.

The wet pour surface is a blended mix of black rubber granules bound together and represents the second layer of the track oval. Contractor Tang’s Corp. and its employees have started putting the wet pour last week and have completed about 50m of the 400m track or the curb portion (both sides) of the oval at the main entrance of the facility. Yesterday, the contractor’s employees were working on the first 100m portion of the track (outer lane).

“The weather is good today and hopefully it will stay that way the rest of the week so they can work on the other side of the oval. I initially thought they were pouring more asphalt, but I was told later that these are the wet pour so they are looking good at meeting the deadline (before the month ends,” said Tony Rogolifoi, executive director of Northern Marianas Sports Association, which is in charge of the management and maintenance of the Oleai Sports Complex.

The wet pour needs curing time and should be flattened properly before the contractor proceeds with the next step—which is painting and placement of adhesive and pouring of rubber crumbs. When the final surface sets in, cleaning will be done before marking begins.

“The expert from Australia will be back later this month to ensure that proper marking is done and meets the standard of the International Association of Athletics Federations,” Rogolifoi said yesterday in an interview with Saipan Tribune.

The track has to regain the Level II certification from IAAF to be able to host regional tournaments, such as the Oceania Area Championships, Micronesian Athletics Championships, and the track and field competition in the Pacific Games.

“We’re almost there so we’re asking the public to have more patience as we work on having the track back,” Rogolifoi added.

It took more than three years before the track, which was built in the early 2000s, underwent resurfacing work. The project costs nearly a million ($990,000) with majority of the funds coming from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through NMHC’s Community Development Block Grant, while MVA has shelled out $250,000 as part of the its sports tourism program.

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A BTG player goes up for a spike during the first set of their game against Holy Sett in the 2017 Micronesian Baseball Classic Fundraising Volleyball Tournament last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

All About that Ace and BTG swept their games in the 2017 Micronesian Baseball Classic Fundraising Volleyball Tournament to rule the weekend competition held at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

BTG completed its domination in the men’s division contest after beating Holy Sett in Game 1 of the finals last Sunday, 25-9, 25-17.

Zalaka, Blue Blood, and The Boys were the other teams entered in the men’s division and they played in a round-robin format last Saturday to determine the rankings in the playoffs. BTG ended up undefeated in four games in the preliminary to get the top seeding, while Holy Sett and The Boys had similar 2-2 cards with the latter winning the tiebreak and getting the No. 2 seed. Blue Blood and Halaka also earned identical records (1-3), but the former prevailed in the tiebreak to place No. 4, going into the playoffs.

A double-elimination format was implemented in the playoff round with the top-ranked BTG getting a bye in the opener last Sunday. BTG then faced Holy Sett in the quarterfinals and took the victory to arrange a semis duel against Zalaka. Holy Sett downed The Boys to set meet BTG in the next round, while Zalaka beat Blue Blood to arrange a battle with the eventually champion for the first finals berth.

BTG went on to keep its streak and edged Zalaka to get the finals ticket in the winner’s bracket, while the four other teams dropped to the loser’s pool and fought for the remaining finals seat.

The Boys and Blue Blood were the first one to collide in a make-or-break game with the former keeping its finals hopes alive after eliminating the latter. The Boys was then pitted against Holy Sett and the eventual runner-up survived to duel Zalaka for the final ticket to the championship game. Holy Sett went on to get a second crack at BTG after ousting Zalaka and was pressed to win twice in the finals to upset its favored foe. However, a well-rested BTG came out strong right in Game 1 to end Holy Sett’s hopes.

In other results, All About That Ace duplicated BTG’s feat by going undefeated in the women’s division.

All About That Ace got a 3-0 record in the round-robin games last Sunday, downing Mix Blood, Block & Roll, and Talaabwogh. The eventual champion was then seeded first in the playoffs, while Block & Roll (2-1), Talaabwogh (1-2), and Mix Blood (0-3) finished No. 2 to 4, respectively.

All About That Ace prevailed against Mix Blood in the semis to march into the finals against Block & Roll prevailed, which knocked out Talaabwogh. In the winner-take-all finale, All About That Ace outclassed Block & Roll, 25-19, 25-23.

Meanwhile, the Saipan Baseball League, which is in charge of sending the CNMI National Team to the MBC that will be held in Palau from June 23 to July 3, will hold another fundraiser this month.

The 2017 MBC Fundraising Softball Tournament will run from May 11 to 13 at the Capitol Hill Ballfield and is open to the first co-ed 10 teams that will register and pay the $100 entrance fees.

For more information, contact Boom Castro at 287-2666/ 234-6672 or Jesus Iguel at 783-2232.

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A Kanoa Football Club player, right, beats two Matansa FC players to the ball during the second half of their Division B game in the M-League last Sunday at the Hopwood Middle School Field. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Kanoa FC and Shirley’s FC-1 posted contrasting wins in the M-League over the weekend at the Hopwood Junior High School Field for a two-way tie in Division B lead.

Kanoa FC edged Matansa FC last Sunday, 1-0, while Shirley’s FC-1 eased past the CNMI Women’s National Team last Saturday, 4-1. Kanoa and Shirley’s FC-1 now have similar 3-1-0 win-draw-loss records to share the top spot in the eight-squad field. Matansa and WNT remain winless with the former dropping to a 0-1-3 card and the latter falling to a 0-0-4 slate to occupy the last two places in the team standings.

Jang Ha Kim scored the lone goal for Kanoa in the 50th minute to hand his squad its third win in four games. With Kim’s goal, Kanoa now has made 13 and has given up only six—the second least goals allowed in the division so far behind Shirley’s FC-1’s four. Kanoa had the most goals after four games, just ahead by one against Shirley’s FC-1 and Shirley’s FC-2.

Shirley’s FC-1 added four goals to its tally sheet after getting a pair from Jun Liu in their victory over the WNT. Fradel Sedillo and Wesley Bogdan registered the two other goals with the former putting Shirley’s FC-1 on the board early after knocking in one just two minutes into the match.

Sedillo’s goal tied the match as earlier in the first minute Britally Wally gave the WNT a goal. Shirley’s FC-1 went on to break the deadlock after Liu recorded his first goal in the 10th minute. Liu then made it back-to-back with his shot in the 38th minute, while Bogdan closed out for Shirley’s FC-1 with his goal in the 55th. The WNT, after drawing first blood, was frustrated majority of the match, failing to cash in on their repeated attempts to score.

Shirley’s FC-2 6, Thundercats 2
Shirley’s FC-1 is at close second in the team standings following its win against the Thundercats.

Shirley’s FC-2 improved its record to 3-0-1 after drawing a hat trick from Dhiraj Chhetri last weekend. Louis Yu, Jack Phan, and Tommy Kim registered the three other goals for the second-running team.

The Thundercats, on the other hand, got its two goals from Peter Oh and Davy Laxa. The squad is at the bottom half of the team standings, taking the No. 6 spot with its 0-2-2 slate.

KFAS 3, Sun Palace 1
Korean Football Association on Saipan is slightly ahead of the Thundercats in the rankings as the former seats at No. 5.

KFAS holds a 1-2-1 record after defeating Sun Palace (1-2-1). Edwin Kim and Jun Woo Lee gave KFAS it first win of the season after they scored against Sun Palace. Kim tallied two straight goals, earning his first in the 23rd and the second six minutes later. Lee’s goal came in the 38th.

Feng Yu handed Sun Palace its lone goal and it was posted right in the first minute of the opening match in Division B last weekend.

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Florence Antonio, left, and Paul Plunkett pose for a photo at the finish line of the 24th NTT-ASTC Subic Bay International Triathlon held over the weekend at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in the Philippines. (Contributed Photo)

Two triathletes from Saipan made it to the podium in the age group competitions in the 24th NTT-ASTC Subic Bay International Triathlon held over the weekend at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in the Philippines.

Paul Plunkett topped the men’s 55 to 59 division, besting six other participants, while Florence Antonio joined the same age group and finished third in last Sunday’s race. Plunkett completed the 1.5K swim, 40K bike 10K run event in 3:00:19, reaching the finish line more than five minutes ahead of his closest rival.

The division champion clocked in at 31:22 in the swim leg held in the waters off ACEA Beach Resort and was the fastest in the two-lap race. In the bike leg, which took place around the freeport zone, Plunkeet submitted 1:26:43—the second best time in the age group. For the run leg that concluded at the Remy Field oval, the Saipan triathlete recorded the second best time at 1:00:34.

Plunkett’s mark in the run leg allowed him to overtake Dean Recupero, who completed the bike leg about seven minutes ahead of the former after timing in at 1:19:09 for a nearly five-minute lead against the Saipan bet, heading into the last part of the race. Recupero then slid to second place as he checked in at 1:12:54 in the run leg.

Antonio was the fastest in the run leg, as he was the lone triathlete in his age group to finish the 10K less than one hour. His 58:36 in the last phase of the race brought him to the podium. Antonio posted split times of 41:46 and 1:26:53 in the swim and bike legs for a total time of 3:07.16, or just less than two minutes behind the second-ranked Recupero, who registered 3:05:43.

Japanese Ryosuke Maeda was the overall top finisher in the Olympic distance race after clocking in at 1:53:59, while Hong Kong’s Hilda Choi ruled the women’s division after recording 2:10:02.

Meanwhile, Saipan Swim Club’s Christian Villacrusis joined the sprint race in the same competition last Saturday.

He finished fourth out of the 20 entries in the men’s 16 to 19 age group after completing the 1K swim race, 20K bike, and 5K run in 1:20:30. Villacrusis’ split times were unavailable at the tournament’s website.

The weekend competition in Subic was sanctioned by the International Triathlon Union and the Asian Triathlon Confederation and organized by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines. Triathlon Association of the CNMI helped Villacrusis, Plunkett, and Antonio join the annual tournament that drew nearly 300 participants across Asia.

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SSFM’s Dan Barcinas, right, pulls up for a running jumper and draws a foul from Marianas Variety’s Alex Standish during the closing minutes of their game in the San Antonio summer caging last Monday at the San Antonio court. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

SSFM played steadier in the closing minutes of its game against Mariana Variety to earn a 72-67 victory in the curtain-raiser in the 2017 San Antonio Summer Basketball League last Monday at the San Antonio court.

SSFM entered the last two minutes of the match down by a deuce, 61-63, and ended up taking the 5-point win after holding Marianas Variety to one field goal in the homestretch.

Dan Barcinas delivered the clutch baskets for SSFM, scoring 6 straight points off back-to-back and-1 plays. His first 3-point play gave SSFM the lead, 66-63, and came after a pair of free throws from Andrew Palino tied the match. Barcinas then converted a running jumper off a missed shot from Marianas Variety on the other end and also drew a foul on Alex Standish. The former Mt. Carmel School standout completed the 3-point play to extend SSFM’s lead, 69-63.

Another botched attempt from Marianas Variety returned possession to SSFM and Palino made a layup to up their advantage to 8, 71-63, with 32 seconds left in the game. Marianas Variety then ended its silence in the ensuing play when Angelo Factor faked off the defense of Barcinas and canned a triple, 66-71.

Palino tried to counter and overshot his mark, while Ivan Devero pulled up from downtown and missed, but was fouled, giving Marianas Variety a chance to move closer. However, Devero went only 1-for-3 from the stripe, missing his first free throw and canning the second before getting caught stepping on the line after releasing his third shot.

SSFM got the possession back after Devero’s violation and sued for time before going for the inbound play. When the game resumed, Marianas Variety was forced to give up a foul on Tony Raho, who split his charities to make it a two possession game, 72-65, down to the last 7 seconds in the match.

The scores did not change as Factor missed a corner triple at the buzzer.

Three SSFM players broke into double figures in their win against Marianas Variety with Andrew Ashburn leading the way with his 19 points. Barcinas chipped in 16, while Palino added 10.

Ashburn also anchored SSFM’s offense in their 103-40 demolition of 5 Star Construction last Saturday. The shooting forward sizzled for 26 points and drew a lot of help from his teammates to maul 5 Star Construction. Nathan Kapileo contributed 19, Edong Echaves and Palino had 14 apiece, while Barcinas and Gino Libuw logged 12 and 10, respectively.

SSFM built a double-digit lead early, 22-6, behind the 8 first-quarter points of Ashburn and by the end of the third period, the eventual winning team was miles ahead, more than doubling 5 Star Construction’s output, 74-31.

Monday Game
SSFM 72 – Ashburn 19, Barcinas 16, Palino 10, Lester 8, Libuw 8, Raho 4, Santos 4, Echavez 3.
Marianas Variety 67 – A. Factor 19, Devero 18, Standish 17, Manibusan 6, Younis 3, Babauta 3, Supetran 1.
Scoring by quarters: 17-12, 30-34, 54-49, 72-67.

Saturday Game
SSFM 103 – Ashburn 26, Kapileo 19, Echavez 14, Palino 14, Barcinas 12, Libuw 10, Daniel 6, Santos 2.
5 Star Construction 40 – Galang 10, Guinto 9, Tiano 7, Pino 5, Boltron 5, Castillo 4.
Scoring by quarters: 22-6, 46-17, 74-31, 103-40.

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Enforcers pitcher Jonathan Santos catches the ball after throwing a strike against the Ol’Aces during their Junior League game in the 2017 Saipan Little League Baseball last Saturday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Enforcers eked out a 14-13 victory over the Ol’Aces in their Junior League division game in the 2017 Saipan Little League Baseball last Saturday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield.

The Enforcers worked their way back from a 3-7 deficit and then survived the Ol’Aces’ late rally to pull off the close win.

A six-run top of the fourth inning allowed the Enforcers to grab the lead from the Ol’Aces, 9-8. The Enforcers scored two runs off passed balls and one each off the Ol’Aces’ error and wild pitch. The two other runs were off a stolen base and an RBI from Jayart Palmes.

The Enforcers’ surge in the fourth inning came after the squad was held to one run apiece in the first three innings. Sean Rabauliman had an RBI single each in the first and third inning, while Minko Taimanao reached off an error in the second inning.

While the Enforcers struggled early, the Ol’Aces got off to a good start as Henry Fleming and Treven Lizama hit back-to-back RBIs at the bottom of the first inning. The Ol’Aces then collected five more runs in the second inning, capitalizing on their opponent’s errors to gain more cushion, 7-3, before the Enforcers made their move in the fourth inning to wrestle back the lead, 9-8.

The Ol’Aces countered with only one run at the bottom of the fourth inning and fell short in its bid to reclaim the upper hand and with the Enforcers getting three more runs in the fifth inning, it was the former’s turn to launch a comeback.

The Ol’Aces stared at a 10-14 deficit, going into the last inning threatened the Enforcers when Shane Mendiola and Ken Kaipat stole home with only one out, 12-14. The Ol’Aces were then called for the second out when Jonathan Santos, who relieved Justin Agulto, struck out Kianna Aldan. Santos continued to work the mound for the Enforcers and walked Fleming, who later stole second and eventually reached off a passed ball from Rabauliman, who closed out for the Enforcers.

Fleming’s run moved the Ol’Aces within one, but that also served as the team’s last run as Rabauliman redeemed himself in the next play by fanning out Treven Lizama.

Meanwhile, in the second game in the Junior League last Saturday, the Comets edged the Falcons, 4-1.

Pitchers Reid Teregeyo, Bing Nakamura, and Sab Saures combined for a three-hitter to lift the Comets to the victory in the low-scoring match.

Teregeyo also scored two of the Comets’ four runs with his first at the top of the opening inning courtesy of Saures’ RBI single and the second from Nakamura’s sacrifice out. Nakamura and Saures made the two other runs for the Comets with the latter’s single driving the former home. Saures, on the other hand, reached off A.J. Sanchez’s single.

The Falcons got their lone run from Jericho Jones, who advanced to first off the Comets’ error and then stole second and third before reaching home off a passed ball. The Falcons had a chance to score more in that inning with the bases loaded, however Teregeyo struck out Isaiah Teigita for the last out.

The Falcons never made it past the second base in the next four innings with Teregeyo still on the mound and was just replaced by Saures late in the sixth.

Saures started his shift by fanning out Martin Agulto to end the inning and the Comets moved one out away from wrapping up the match after booting out the Falcons’ first two batters off 5-3 and 1-3 putout plays. The Falcons, however, stayed alive as Nixon Smith managed to run safely to first and eventually reached thid, while Jacoby Chaufaros walked.

With runners on third and first, Nakamura relieved Saures and helped the Comets get the last out as he picked up a short shot from Zach Reyes and threw the ball to first baseman Justin Magofna.

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