Nicky, Raphael get August nod

Ace pitcher Nicolas San Nicolas and youth bowler Raphael Zapanta were named August Athletes of the Month by the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association during its monthly meeting Thursday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium conference room.

San Nicolos took home the August Male Athlete of the Month plum after leading Rock Steady to the championship of the 2008 Budweiser Saipan Major League.

The most promising pitching prospect the islands have seen in years was front and center in the pennant champions’ title-clinching 5-3 victory over a game Ford Rangers team last Aug. 30 at the Francisco “Tan Ko” M. Palacios Baseball Field.

San Nicolas, with the help of Rock Steady’s stout defense, gave up only one run at the resumption of Game 5 to complete its domination of the 2008 season. Rock Steady was unbeaten in the regular season with a 14-0 record.

San Nicolas was eventually hailed Finals MVP for his sterling performance in fifth and final game. The said trophy looked nice beside his Best Pitcher award after recording a miniscule ERA of 0.81 per contest during the season.

Aside from starring for Rock Steady, San Nicolas has also been a mainstay of CNMI All-Star teams in the Little League and represented the Commonwealth in the recent 2008 Big World Series in Easley, South Carolina.

Zapanta, for his part, won the August Male Student Athlete of the Month award after capturing his sixth Bing Prince of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament last Aug. 24 at the Capital Bowling Center in Garapan.

The 13-year-old Saipan Southern High School incoming freshman’s victory in the August tilt was his third straight and followed similar triumphs in the June and July editions of the monthly competition organized by Saipan Bowling Association and sponsored by MARPAC.

The son of bowling officials Ross and Gigi Zapanta tattooed 737 pins in the four-game series to finish with an average of 184.25.

Zapanta had low-key start, rolling a pedestrian 155 in his first game before getting going with a tournament-high 213 in the second. He ended his evening with solid scores of 183 and 186 in the third and fourth games, respectively.

Aside from reigning supreme in the June to August roll-offs, Zapanta also won the February, March, and May competitions of the Bing Prince of the Lanes.