RBC brings home two championships from Guam tourney

 Two of the Rollers Basketball Club’s six teams that took part in Guam’s 2011 Take Care Thanksgiving Hoops Fest tournament brought home championship trophies when they returned to Saipan early Monday morning.

The U16-U18B Rollers, led by Kiolani Rios, won the Turkey Fly & Shoot recreational division championship, 33-21, over the Mongmong Toto Maite Falcons; while the Turkey Run U14B recreational division Rollers blew away the Tamuning Typhoons, 41-10, for the club’s second title.

The U12 IT&E Rollers went undefeated in their march to the finals but came up a little short for the sweep.

Rios was the top scorer of the U16-U18 finals and received most valuable player honors for her performance and also finished first place on the division top scorers list. Rios totaled 25 markers to average just over eight points in three games (8.33).

The U16-U18 Rollers fared well in its doubleheader on Thanksgiving morning, routing the the Tamuning Typhoon, 42-11, and outlasting the MTM Falcons, 29-21, in their first meeting.

On Thanksgiving Day, the U14B squad also faced a doubleheader and rose to the occasion, shocking Tamuning Typhoons I, 32-19, and then its Typhoons II counterparts, 42-11, in the early afternoon.

The win gave the Rollers a spot in the finals with a day’s rest, as only three teams made up the field.

U14B’s Roller’s Jun Fidelino led his crew in points and his teammate C.J. Morales was selected as the most valuable player. Fidelino finished first place in top scorers list with 27 points through three games for an average of nine. His teammate Wilfredo Francisco finished right behind him with 26 points for an average of 8.67 markers per game.

After coming into the championship undefeated, the U12 Rollers came up just short in their Turkey Dash coed finals duel, 22-29, to Guam’s Inarajan Hawks.

The U12 Rollers went through the MTM Falcons, 38-13, and then downed the Typhoons, 36-23, before trampling the Raiders Club, 38-17, to clinch the finals berth.

Last Friday, the U14A Rollers won its first game over the Tamuning Typhoons, 59-40, but couldn’t rebound after a hard-fought loss in its second pairing against the Inarajan Hawks, 33-37, and were eliminated by the MTM Falcons in its third game, 39-26, later that afternoon. The team played all three on the same day and may have grown tired as the day wore on.

On the bright side, players Prince Factor tallied 43 points in three games (14.33 points per game average) to finish second in the division’s top scorers list.

Just before supper time on Thanksgiving, U18’s Rollers were sent to their room by the fourth-ranked Typhoons, 64-36, and received the knockout blow by Islanders Club, 50-28, the next day.

Although it was a poor showing, the team shouldn’t feel so bad as the U18 division was the biggest in the event, fielding 10 other opposing squads and was by far the most competitive division.

Turkey Blast division’s U25 Rollers also went two and out and were swiftly eliminated from the competition. However, its point man Manny Matagolai sat atop the division scoring list with a total of 49 points through the two matches for a stout average of 24.50 points per outing.

After falling to the MTM Falcons, 53-56, in a tough loss on Friday the Rollers were ousted by JV International Safety, 66-51, on Sunday.

“I want to thank all of our coaches and chaperones because I know that there was no way I could to this by myself. I also want to thank the (MTM) Falcons and the (Inajaran) Hawks for being such gracious hosts. Our new coach John Dela Cruz hooked us up with some of his family members during our stay and we want to thank them as well for all of their hospitality,” said RBC head coach Joe Diaz.

Diaz also shared hopes of perhaps sending his U12, 14U, and 16U squads back to Guam over the summer to participate in an event hosted by the Inarajan Hawks.

On the RBC’s overall performance, Diaz added, “All things considered I have to chalk this up as a success. Our late arrival was unfortunate, but the organizers did their best to let us still compete. And I am very proud of my players because they did not care about all the obstacles put up against them; they just went out and played hard. Deep down, I think we won over a lot of people in the crowd on Guam and they may have underestimated us a bit.”

The event was held in Guam’s Tamuning Gymnasium. A total of 59 teams competed in nine divisions.