Test and evaluation time for men’s hoops pool

Players under the Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation’s NMI Senior National Program join coach Joe Diaz, center front row, for a team photo at the Marianas High School Gymnasium. The pool is now in Guam to play in the NMI Friendship Classic at the UOG Calvo Field House (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Players under the Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation’s NMI Senior National Program left Saipan this morning to play in the NMI Friendship Classic at the UOG Calvo Field House in Guam.

The men’s pool joins the women’s in the Guam trip for a series of friendly games against the UOG Tritons and a couple of club teams beginning this Thursday until Saturday. The men’s group has Donovan Brennan, Eli Aughenbaugh, Chioni Dela Cruz, Greg Sablan, Leo Naraja, Shane Deleon Guerrero, Khristian Carl Itaas, Lucio Aldan, Ervin Villarin, Nyrel Eugenio, Carson Sumol, Frankie Satur, Jeff Castro, Sir Lashu Dela Cruz, and captain Coby Santos on its roster for the three-day event.

Santos and company have been training under the national program since last year, as they battle for slots on the NMI National Team and hope to play in the FIBA Micronesian Cup that Guam will also be hosting from June 8 to 11 this year. The FIBA Micro Cup is a qualifier for the 2023 Pacific Games, which will take place in the Solomon Islands.

“With the Micro Cup fast approaching, we hope to see how far we have come since we joined the national program and what we need to work on more to have the opportunity and honor to represent our islands,” said Santos.

Veteran coach Joe Diaz echoed Santos’ thoughts, saying that the Guam event will give him the opportunity to evaluate each player and see how their individual and team skills have improved since they began committing to the program.

“This is also our opportunity to execute what we’ve been doing in our practices. Every player on the pool has great skills whether on defense or offense, but it’s a matter of putting them together and making the adjustments depending on the game situation. These friendlies will give us the on-game experience that most of our players have been lacking since our local leagues and off-island events were shelved in the last two years due the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the process that we all must go through to rebuild our basketball program,” Diaz said.

Diaz added that the NMI Friendship Classic is also a good way to touch base with Guam teams and establish partnership with them.

The NMI men’s pool will challenge MicroFriends club team today at 8:15pm and then duel the KFC Bombers tomorrow. The visiting team will close out the friendlies with an 8:15 match against the Tritons this Saturday.

From the men’s pool, only 12 will make it to the NMI’s final roster for the FIBA Micronesian Cup and NMIBF president James Lee said that off-island players are also part of the pool and can be considered on the selection provided they meet the program’s criteria.

“All off-island athletes that want to try out must first email the federation about their interest and must meet the criteria prior to be allowed to walk in. The other requirements are for players to at least be participating in a basketball league within the year, submit most recent stats, and meet physical and skill tests. Lastly, if approved to be an off island ‘walk in’ to tryout, he or she must be on Saipan first week of May and practice with the rest of the national program athletes. The head coach will then determine if he or she fits into the overall team and be selected as the Top 12 to represent the NMI to the FIBA Micronesian Cup,” Lee said. (PR)