Big Leaguers off to ASPAC

The CNMI Big League All-Stars on Monday received their flight plans to Manila and will compete in the 2011 Asia Pacific Regional Tournament from June 27 to July 2 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in the Philippines.

The news is a welcome development for the embattled local Little League program, whose funding woes resulted in the non-participation of the Junior and Senior all-stars in their respective ASPAC meets in Indonesia and the Philippines, respectively.

The CNMI Major All-Stars are expected to suit up for the ASPAC in Guam next month.

Unfortunately because of funding woes, four members of the Saipan Big League All-Stars that won the district championship will not be going to the Philippines’ capital.

The 13 players that will go include Elijah Aughenbaugh, Richard Dela Cruz, MacGarette Duenas, Nathan Guerrero, Dave Jones, Joshua Jones, Jeremy Lizama, Keoni Lizama, Juan Maratita II, Joe Palacios, Rocco Reyes, Nokki Saralu, and Eric Tenorio.

Aughenbaugh and Tenorio played on the 2004 ASPAC Major League champion team; Duenas and Palacios on the 2006 ASPAC Majors champions, while Dela Cruz, Duenas, Nathan Guerrero, Jeremy Lizama, and Palacios all played on last year’s Senior League ASPAC champions.

The team will be managed by Joe Flores with head coach Jonathan Tenorio and assistant coach Robert Magofna manning the sidelines. Tenorio coached last year’s ASPAC senior champs.

During the meeting, Flores emphasized the importance of everyone’s timely arrival to the airport because the team cannot afford to miss any more players.

Harry Nakamura, Marvin Ngeskebei, Anthony Leon-Guerrero, and Mike Iguel are staying behind this year, although they did appear in the CNMI Little League District Tournament last month.

The pitcher-catcher combo of Nakamura and Ngeskebei were members of last year’s Senior League champs, while this season marks Iguel’s final year of eligibility.
[B] Departure time[/B]

The team is set to depart from Saipan at 4am early Saturday morning and must check-in at the airport by 2am.

Last Friday, the team paid half of its $687 group discount transportation fee per player through Wings Travel and payment of the remaining half is due by tomorrow, June 23.

ASPAC organizers waived this year’s entrance fee, but instead required participating teams to provide their own hotel and travel expenses.

The team estimates its lodging expenditure at $5,000, but is awaiting $3,000 from Saipan Little League Baseball Inc.

The team has also sent out letters to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos, House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan), Reps. Stanley Torres (Ind-Saipan), Ramon Basa (Cov.-Saipan), and Fred Guerrero (Ind-Saipan), requesting personal donations since public funds are off the table.

Donation letters were also sent to Bridge Capital, Tan Holdings, and Triple J.
[B] Coin drives[/B]

The brunt of the team’s funding came from an anonymous sponsor, however players are still conducting last-minute fundraising efforts such as coin drives at the intersection of Beach Road and Isa Drive during lunch hour to acquire additional funding while in Manila.

Some players heard rumors of the good news over the weekend, but received official confirmation from the coaches on Monday. This will be the first time the players will compete in the Philippines.

“We are very excited to receive the opportunity. Last year we came up a little short because of the stiff competition and I hope we win it this time for the CNMI,” said Aughenbaugh.

Last year’s CNMI Big Leaguers endured three tough losses, all by just one run, in Jakarta, Indonesia.

“I can’t wait for this experience…this is my first all-star appearance and it feels like a long time in waiting for me,” said Keoni Lizama.

Lizama felt snubbed after being left off the 2008 Junior League squad, despite finishing near the top tier of the batting statistics. He also pulled out from last year’s Senior League team and opted to attend the Oceania Baseball Training Camp on Guam.

The teams will be practicing daily from 10am to noon until Thursday.