Men’s team falls to Marshall Islands in MBT

The CNMI men’s basketball team ran right smack into a red-hot Republic of Marshall Islands team and lost 85-68 yesterday in the 2004 Micronesian Basketball Tournament at the University of Guam field house.

The setback means that the boys of playing coach Elias Rangamar must win their third game against Kosrae this morning to have a chance of getting into the medal round.

The CNMI held down RMI to just three field goals in the opening four minutes of the ballgame to take a 20-6 lead.

But Marshall Islands regrouped and outscored the CNMI 14-6 the rest of the quarter to cut its deficit to 20-26 going into the second.

Team CNMI stayed aggressive at the start of the second quarter. They again tried to put some distance between them and Marshall Islands and succeeded in the early goings.

A 7-3 spurt would give the CNMI a 33-23 lead with a little over four minutes remaining in the half. But the Marshallese fought back banking on their long-range gunners to get themselves back into the game.

A 12-0 run gave Marshall Islands the driver’s seat for the first time in the game, 35-33. And although John Santos retaliated with a bomb from rainbow country to retake the lead, RMI closed the half with a 6-0 run and entered halftime with a 41-36 edge.

Rangamar’s wards continued to play hard in the third period but RMI players were just making every conceivable shot they threw to the direction of the basket.

Marshall Islands extended its lead to 7 points, 46-39, on a couple of 3-pointers. But a couple of old-fashioned 3-point plays by Abong Camacho and John Santos put the CNMI within 2 points of the Marshallese, 49-51.

Marshall Islands, however, didn’t like the idea of letting the CNMI get back into the thick of things going on an 11-1 tear to close the quarter and headed into the payoff period on top by 12 points, 62-50.

The game went from bad to worse for Rangamar’s boys in the fourth quarter.

The Marshallese continued to find the bottom of the nylon in their attempts behind the 3-point arc. They also leaked out for several breakaway layups that allowed them to take a 70-52 lead with 6:54 remaining.

The CNMI managed to cut the deficit to 12 points on several occasions, the last time on a couple of gift shots by swingman Gabriel White that made it 75-63 time down to 2:24.

But that turned out to be the CNMI’s last hurrah as the Marshallese went on a 10-5 run to finish the ballgame.

The CNMI is in Pool A with the RMI, first-day victim Chuuk, and Kosrae. Playing in Pool B are Guam, Palau, Yap, and Pohnpei.

Other Day 1 results in the men’s competition saw Guam pulverize Pohnpei, 115-60; Marshall Islands defeat Kosrae, 65-54; and Yap upset Palau, 82-77.

The CNMI women, meanwhile, split their first two games of the tournament. Coach Donald Blondin’s players put their 44-72 rout on the hands of Palau Monday behind them and bounced back with a 57-46 victory over Chuuk yesterday. (With a report from Ricky Itaas)