CCOPSA caging opens season with triple-header

Three games will kick off the action in the 2018-2019 Commonwealth Coalition of Private Schools Association Varsity Basketball League today, as players from all 12 teams are looking forward for an exciting season.

Kagman High School will be hosting Saipan International School in the boys division game at 3:30pm, while over at the Koblerville Gymnasium, Saipan Southern High School will be taking on Grace Christian Academy. For another boys division match, Agape Christian School 1 will be welcoming Mount Carmel School 2 in the Torchbearers’ home turf in Gualo Rai.

“I think this tournament is going to be fun,” KHS captain Dean Blake said when asked about the competition. “I really can’t wait to see what the other players can do on the court. It should be interesting.”

Kagman and Saipan Southern are fielding one team each in the boys and girls divisions, making the league even more competitive this season.

“I feel energized as we kick off the CCOPSA league and I play one last time for Mount Carmel School,” said team captain Angelo Factor whose squad (MC1) won’t be playing their first game until tomorrow when they take on Agape at the Koblerville Gymnasium.

Factor was part of the Knights crew that won last season’s title and he knew the opposing teams are all eyes on them, as they try to grab the championship trophy away from Mt. Carmel.

“I know all schools are hungry to beat us, but we will see what they have for us,” Factor said.

Eagles captain, Marcky Masilungan, meanwhile, has mixed feelings about the season.

“I’m kinda nervous heading into the season since volleyball had just come to an end and the intermission seems kinda rushed,” Masilungan said. “Nonetheless, I’m excited to compete with the other teams and see what they have in store for us.”

GCA was Mt. Carmel’s finals foe last season.

Louisa Han and Jasmine Phan, captains for MCS and GCA, respectively, are just as eager to begin competing as their male counterparts are.

“I’m super excited to finally be back on the court with my teammates,” Han said. “I think the basketball season will hype many students up, especially after the volleyball season and final exams.”

“I am excited for this new CCOPSA season for basketball because it will be the first time in a long while for GCA to have a high school girls basketball team,” Phan said. “The last time there was a girls varsity basketball] team was when I was in 8th grade, so it’s been about four years since we had a team.”

Phan also took note of the significant improvements their team have shown in their training sessions and how these will help make up for their lack of experience.

“The team is fairly new to the sport of basketball, but they have shown great improvement since the beginning of our practice sessions.” Phan said. “We’ve been practicing different strategies and teaching the basics to make the game easier to understand.”

Not to be outdone, Mt. Carmel’s boys and girls teams have also geared up for the basketball season despite facing many obstacles, including the lack of a home court after it was damaged by Super Typhoon Yutu.

“We have been preparing for three months since Typhoon Yutu struck our island, leaving massive destruction to our home court,” Factor said. “That doesn’t stop us from practicing with this young group of talented ballers.”

Han added that their practices are done in unconventional ways due to the unavailability of their basketball court.

“We’ve been conditioning at the beach [in preparation] for the season,” Han said. “The most important factor of basketball is teamwork and endurance. Therefore, we are focusing extra hard on conditioning!”