‘The Crank’, AFC officials grab headlines

Saipan’s very own Frank “The Crank” Camacho and two officials from the Asian Football Confederation made sports headlines this past week.

Camacho won two medals including a gold in the recently concluded Naga Jujitsu Championships in Washington, D.C. Camacho broke out of the local mixed martial arts scene under the Trench Tech Purebred Saipan Gym representing both his home gym and the Lloyd Irvin MMA Academy in the 2008 Virginia Grappling Championship.

He competed in the 180-189 lbs weight class winning the gold in the gi division and adding the bronze in the no gi.

AFC officials Kaita Sugihara and Biplav Gautam, meanwhile, were on island last week to assess the programs started by the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association.

The rapid development of football in the CNMI, almost two years after NMIFA’s creation, brought smiles to Sugihara and Gautam.

Sugihara is the AFC development officer while Gautam is the AFC Vision Asia Division development officer.

In other sports news, Sea Craft IV topped the 4th Annual Mahi-Mahi Fishing Derby after captain Rolly Trajeco and crewmen Annie Legaspi and Liody Bukid reeled in a 24.3-lb. mahi-mahi caught in Tinian waters.

Tweety Bird of captain Eric David and crewmen Gonzalo Pangelinan and Tak Nakazoto placed second with a mahi-mahi that tipped the scales at 24.25 lbs.

Last year’s runner-up tandem of Tony Maestro and Manding Legaspi finished third this time after DJ Fish Mobile caught a 22.35-lb. mahi-mahi. The two split the $500 third place prize.

Inter-Godfather’s won the 2008 Men’s Winter Football League title after having a league-best 7-1-1 win-loss-draw record in the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association’s first league for the year to claim the NMIFA Men’s League Cup in the six-team field.

FC Arirang took runner-up honors with a 6-2-1 slate while Onwel, which also earned the sportsmanship award, placed third after having a 4-3-2 mark.

The past week also saw the continuation of games in the SBA Open 8-Ball League, 3rd Annual Budweiser-Saipan Major League, Inaugural FMI Inter-Color Basketball League, 9th Annual Pacific Islands Club-Miller Lite Spring Co-ed 4-Person Beach Volleyball League, and the Saipan Little League Baseball Association.