RBC Christmas 3-on-3 caging this weekend

The Garapan Community Development Center and Rollers Basketball Club are hosting the 2011 Christmas 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament this Friday and Saturday at the Garapan Basketball Court.

The event is free and is open to all U10, U12, and U14 players. There is a maximum of five players per roster and the event will utilize FIBA 33 rules.

Friday’s games will start at 5pm with the championship pairing tipping off around 3pm on Saturday.

Medals will be awarded to the championship teams during the RBC’s 2nd Annual Family Fun-Athon, which will be held on Jan. 28, 2012.

Family Fun-Athon will also feature a 3-on-3 tournament between U12, U14, and U16 players; however, the parents will be thrown in the mix.

There are also various side games planned for the kids such as a spoon toss race, minefield, a paint-balloon war, sneaker scramble, grab bag race, a game of “mom-or-dad calling” and even some volleyball.

“The Family Fun-Athon is open to everyone, but one big purpose for the event is because we at the GCDC want people, especially in the Garapan precinct, to know that we are here and our services are readily available for them,” said GCDC and RBC front man Joe Diaz.

Organizers hope the Fun-Athon would help people lose some weight they may have put on during the holiday season.

“We assume that a lot of people may have packed on a few extra pounds during the holiday break and we want to use the Family Fun-Athon to help them whip back into shape,” said RBC head coach Joe Diaz in a phone interview yesterday.

After the family event the RBC plans on sending some teams over to Tinian for a camping trip and friendship tournament with Tinian players in February 2012.

“We want to visit Tinian to build friendships with our island neighbors, and at the same time, we want our (RBC) members to learn life skills in addition to promoting basketball and a healthy lifestyle. Camping and spending time with the Tinian kids is a great way to build character and it gives us the opportunity to both learn and take part in a lot more activities than just basketball,” said Diaz.

Lastly, the RBC is still waiting to hear from IT&E to see if they will return as the sponsor for its 2nd Annual Youth Christmas Tournament, which organizers are pushing to hold from Dec. 28 to 30, also at the Garapan Basketball Court. This event is a 5-on-5 full court competition.

In related news, the RBC has announced plans of fielding its U14 squad in the 2012 Manila-Pacific Rim Goodwill Games, which will be held in the Philippines from July 23 to July 30.

The GCDC and RBC are currently collaborating with longtime sponsors Division of Youth Services and Vice Speaker Felicidad Ogumorro (Cov-Saipan) to help enable most of its events, but are always open to any new forms of sponsorship assistance.

Any small businesses that wish to donate small gifts that the group can use as prizes for participants in their sports activities would be a great help. Based on past experience, the kids seem to enjoy simply prizes such as food and water park and movie coupons.

Visit RBC’s Facebook page or call the GDCD at 233-8978 for more information.