U16, U19 teams to count on speed, defense

The CNMI U16 and U19 teams will be relying on their speed and defense when they compete in Asian Football Confederation-sanctioned tournaments later this month.

Members and officials of the CNMI U16 National Team pose for a group photo during a send-off ceremony last Saturday at the lobby of Kanoa Resort. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

“For us to get the best possible results in Laos and Thailand, we have to use our speed and defense,” said Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director Kiyoshi Sekiguchi, who will be coaching both squads.

The CNMI U16 National Team will be competing first, as it left Saipan yesterday for the AFC U16 Championship India 2016 Qualifiers, which will be held at the National Sports Complex Stadium in Vientiane, Laos from Sept. 12 to 20. The squad is composed of Christopher Aninzo, Clayton Izuka, James Ermitanio, Alan Hinson, Mareko Tekopua, Alex Park, Louie Calayag, Cole Chambers, Code Leon, Emmanuel Aniana, Sunjoon Tenorio, Edwin Kim, Anthony Fruit, Joshua Abragan, Jonathan Capayas, Joshua De Leon, Thaiphi Austria, Chad Shankweiler, and Dai Podziewski. Completing the CNMI delegation are assistant coaches Wai Wo Lee and Jersh Angeles, goalkeeper coach Takemoto Suzuki, manager Derek Chambers, and doctor Jungsang Park.

The Commonwealth bets are in Group G of the qualifiers and will be playing against the host country, Timor-Leste, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

“Our target is to get at least one win and limit our opponents’ goals,” Sekiguchi said.

“We’ve been practicing defensive tactics using our speed to prevent scoring opportunities. Hopefully, these will work in the tournament and we will just make the adjustments as the game progresses,” added Sekiguchi, who picks Malaysia and Laos as the top teams in the group.

Incidentally, Sekiguchi was the technical director of Laos before he took the same post in the CNMI about two years ago so his familiarity with the host’s brand of football will be a great help to the Commonwealth team.

From Laos, Sekiguchi will go to Chonburi in Thailand to join the CNMI U19 National Team’s training camp set for Sept. 21 to 25 before proceeding to Bangkok for the AFC U19 Championship Bahrain 2016 Qualifiers.

“The tournament in Thailand is tougher because the teams we will be facing may have some players who are members of their national men’s team and will be playing in World Cup qualifiers this year. Our players need to double up their efforts in every game. Again, I am hoping our speed and defense will be enough to give our opponents a good game,” said Sekiguchi, who is also eying to win at least one game in Bangkok.

The CNMI is in Group H of the qualifiers and will be debuting against Chinese-Taipei on Sept. 28. Up next for the Commonwealth team is its Sept. 30 match versus Singapore, while the former will duel the host country on Oct. 2 before closing out against South Korea on Oct. 4.

The CNMI U19 National Team is composed of goalkeepers Christopher Aninzo and Joshua Galarion, midfielders Emmanuel Aniana, Joel Fruit, Hunter Jewell, Scott Kim, Yoshi Mafnas, Greg Sablan, and Terrence Thosert-Belcher, defenders Euly James Ermitanio, Alan Hinson, Kennedy Izuka, Won Young Kim, John Diego Masga, Ryan Relucio, and Mareko Tekopua, and forwards Chad Shankweiller, Sean Perez, and Ryu Tanzawa. Russell Zapanta is the team manager, while NMIFA treasurer Elna Curate is the CNMI delegation head.