Championship week once again

Winners were hailed in sports from basketball, to tennis, to track and field this past week sports.

The Grace Christian Academy Eagles and Saipan International School Geckos, for starters, followed up their championship in the junior high school league by winning the seniors crown last April 28 at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The Eagles took out Mt. Carmel School Knights in the boys’ finals, 57-52, while the Geckos humbled the Lady Knights in the girls’ championship game, 41-21.

The 2006 UMDA Junior Tennis Tournament, meanwhile, got going last weekend at the American Memorial Park tennis courts and it saw Ji Hoon Heo and Vivien Lee capture the boys’ and girls’ 18-and-under divisions, respectively.

Heo beat Ralph Buenaventua 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (retired), while Lee finished with the best record in the girls division to beat the likes of Mayuko Arriola, Audrey Motto, and Lila Mailman.

The CNMI National Track and Field Championships also was held last April 29 with Tyrone Omar, Bo Wang, Champ Untalan, and Jacque Wonenberg posting impressive performances at the Oleai Track and Field Facility.

Omar won the 100m and 400m men’s open races, Wang set a CNMI record in the 1,500m, Untalan took home the 1,500m and 800m races, while Wonenberg crushed the opposition in the 14-and-under 100m, 200m, and the high jump.

The inaugural Aon Insurance Tennis Tournament also concluded last week with champions in the doubles division being crowed.

Leading the list of winners were the men’s 5.0 pair of Lope Padilla and Lito Cabrera and women’s 5.0 tandem of Lee and Mailman.

Padilla and Cabrera outdueled the top-ranked pair of Peter Loyola and Roy Pangelinan in three hard-fought sets, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 Wednesday night at the AMP tennis courts, while Lee and Mailman repulsed Joy Minor and Letty Jones 6-3, 7-5 in their finale held the evening prior also at the Garapan venue.

The past week also saw tennis sensation Kana Aikawa announce her participation in the 6th Micronesian Games and the Saipan Major League name the CNMI National Baseball Team for the quadrennial event.

In an e-mail to the Saipan Tribune, Aikawa said “playing for the Saipan is definitely exciting for me because it is my home and I just love that place…”

SML, meanwhile, selected the following players to play for CNMI Baseball in the Micro Games set from June 23 to July 2 on Saipan: Chris Camacho, James Kintol, Joe Guerrero, Jonathan Camacho, Roy Celis, J.P. Sablan, Byron Kaipat, Craig Sanchez, Luis Iguel, Manny Sablan, Tony Camacho, Greg F. Camacho, Jess Mesa, Jester Garcia, John S. Reyes, A.J. Allen, Tony Celis, Tyrone Omar, Jerome Delos Santos, Dane Lizama, Oliver Secharmidal, and B.J. Sablan. The squad will be coached by Tino Camacho and managed by Tony Rogolifoi.