Friendlies part of NMI basketball nat’l program buildup

The NMI Senior National Program athletes pose for a group photo with coaches Catherine Attao-Toves, standing right, and David John Apatang, standing left, before a practice session at the Marianas High School Gymnasium earlier this month. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

The Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation’s NMI Senior National Program athletes continue their preparations for the FIBA Micronesian Cup, as they head to Guam this week to play in friendlies.

Women and men players under the NMIBF’s national program will challenge the University of Guam Tritons, Andersen Air Force Base, and a couple of club teams in the UOG-hosted event dubbed as NMI Friendship Classic, which will run from March 31 to April 2 at the UOG Calvo Field House.

“These friendlies and other games and competitions in the future are part of the NMIBF’s journey to rebuilding our national basketball program that has been impacted with the absence of tournaments and training in the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” NMIBF president James Lee said.

“Our first goal when we launched the program was bring players back to the court since majority of leagues were suspended due to the pandemic. Now that we have the pool, we are focusing on training them, getting them back to shape, and building up for future competitions, such as the FIBA Micronesian Cup, by providing them as many opportunities to play in actual tournaments here and off-island and compete against teams that have different levels of play,” Lee said.

The NMIBF president acknowledged that rebuilding the program will not happen overnight and every stakeholder has to go through the journey to reach the ultimate goal for NMI basketball—to establish a strong and sustainable national program and create pathways for players and coaches.

Meanwhile, the NMI women’s pool will first take on Fuetsa women’s basketball club in the opener of the friendlies at 6:30pm this Saturday and then duel the Lady Bombers of Andersen Air Force on Friday. For their last game this Saturday, the NMI women players will square off against the UOG Tritons women’s crew.

Former interscholastic league coach Catherine Attao-Toves will call the shots for the NMI women’s pool and will have David John Apatang as her assistant. The NMI women’s pool has Marlene Lumabi, Madeleine Alegre, Michelle and Richelle Kautz, Kaia Travilla, Azriel Fatialofa, Fiona Bucalig, Angellyn Roligat, Destiny Pangilinan, Sylvina Simram, Sha Aina Mendoza, and Gabrielle Race on its roster for the UOG friendlies.

Alegre is the women’s pool’s captain and she pointed out the importance of the matches like these friendlies to the development of the players.

“We’ve never been to play against off-island teams for years so these games will give the girls a better understanding of where we need to be in terms of skill level, physical fitness, and team strategies to be battle ready for the upcoming FIBA Micronesian Cup,” Alegre said.

Attao-Toves, on the other hand, is thankful to the Guam organizers and teams for helping make the friendlies possible. She also acknowledged the commitment that the national program athletes have shown since the pool was formed.

“Our girls have put so much time not only in practices, but also in giving back to the community by assisting in the ‘Bola’ clinics and volunteering with the interscholastic games. With all that they been doing, it is expanding their knowledge of the game at several different angles to help increase their overall basketball IQ. So, with this opportunity to play in these friendlies in Guam, it will give us a snap shot of what we need to continue to work on as the Micro Cup nears,” Attao-Toves said.

The Micro Cup will be held in Guam from June 8 to 11 with the NMI to play against the host, Palau, and Federated States of Micronesia. The event is a qualifier for the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands. Men’s and women’s team rosters for the Micro Cup have yet to be finalized, as both the current pool members and off-island players are being considered to the selections. (PR)