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Rangamar hopes to start youth league before year ends
Basketball Association of Northern Mariana Islands’ Elias Rangamar said they are hoping to kick off the 2015 BANMI Youth League before the year ends.
The San Jose Ol’Aces’ Ignacio Borja attempts a reverse layup against Kentucky Fried Chicken’s Wilfredo Francisco during their U18 division game in the BANMI youth caging last year at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
“We will need to fix the roof of the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium before we can host basketball competitions, including our annual youth league,” Rangamar said in a brief interview with Saipan Tribune last Saturday after playing for KB Market in the masters division of the 2015 San Antonio Community Action Network Basketball League.
The Ada Gym sustained damage from Typhoon Soudelor that struck Saipan last Aug. 2. The basketball court was flooded for several days and lost the covers of some vents. Some holes on the roof also got bigger, while the facility had broken windows, too.
With heavy rains repeatedly falling on Saipan after Typhoon Soudelor, Rangamar, his fellow Northern Marianas Sports Association staff, and its executive director, Tony Rogolifoi, repeatedly did clean-up work at the gym for more than two months.
“Hopefully, the leaking will be fixed by next month and we can start the youth league either late November of December,” Rangamar added.
Last year, the BANMI youth caging kicked off in September with competitions in the U18 and U21 age groups.
The San Jose Ol’Aces took the U18 championship after beating Kentucky Fried Chicken, 95-85, with the now U.S.-based Kobee Mendoza towing the squad to the title victory. Mendoza was later adjudged regular season and Finals MVP and added the scoring champion trophy to his collection.
In the U21 finale, the Sonics foiled the Ol’Aces’ bid for a sweep after pulling off a 66-60 triumph in the winner-take-all title duel.
Jack Aranda led the Sonics to the championship and was named Finals MVP, while Mendoza, who also played for the Ol’Aces in the older age group, bagged the regular season MVP and scoring honors.
The Jason Lampkin-bannered Kagman notched the third place trophy in the U21 division after downing Dream Team in the consolation match, 91-85, while Rollers A had the same feat in the U18 age group following its 80-66 victory over the Chalan Kanoa Saints.
