Marianas Cup returns

Two exciting games will be played in this Sunday when the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association brings back the Marianas Football Cup at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.

The CNMI Boys U12 Team will kick off the Marianas Cup, which was last held on Saipan in 2010, when it takes on its counterpart in Guam at 1pm. The host listed 19 players for the afternoon game with goalie Clayton Izuka leading the squad. Also on the team are Joshua Abragan, Jonathan Capayas, Cole Chambers, Joshua De Leon, Anthony Fruit, Edwin Kim, Raffy Lee, Cody Leon, David Mafnas, Steven Martin, Logan and Blake Mister, Alex Park, Jonah Pohl, John Tam, John Rojas, Sunjoon Tenorio, and Jon Villagomez. Jershwin Villagomez is the team’s head coach, while Johann Noetzel is the goalkeeper coach. Other officials of the squad are assistant coaches Takemoto Suzuki and Ruselle Zapanta and team manager Derek Chambers.

Dominic Gadia will call the shots for the visiting team and will be assisted by Mark Anthony Chargualaf. The Guam U12 Team is composed of Nathan Sherman, Michael Lee, Shaun Paul Martinez, Jonathan Sevilla, Andrew Kilgore, Jeremy Collado, Steven Perez, Gabriel Tan, Marleuy Cruz, Kein Artero, Javian Cruz, Anthony Simon, James Lee, Anthony Moon, Leon Morimoto, Nicolas Vavra, and Ethan Elwell.

The U12 game will be played in two 35-minute halves and in case of a tie at the regulation, a 15-minute overtime will be implemented.
For the second and final game of the day 3:30pm, the CNMI U19 Team will challenge GFA Men’s League champion Quality Distributors.
Eighteen players are suiting up for the Teen Ayuyus, who will be coached by Luam Khen Ko and assistants Wai Wo Lee and Suzuki. Noetzel is also the squad’s goalkeeper coach, while Mae Ito is the team manager. The CNMI U19 roster has Ethan Dickinson, Kenneth Domingo, Joel Fruit, Kennedy Izuka, Angelo Jones, Scott Kim, Thanyakorn Konkoed, Jake Lee, Oliver Lumbad, Yoshi Mafnas, John Diego Masga, Gary Fidelino, Sean Perez, John Taisacan, Ryu Tanzawa, Terrence Belcher, Jireh Yobech, and Raphael Zapanta.
The Teen Ayuyus will be up against the 15-man lineup of Quality Distributors. The visiting team has Brett and Devin Maluwelmeng, David Manibusan, Imry Cambell, James Bush, Jan-Willem Staman, Kaito Inoue, Joshua Mendiola, Paul Long, Philip Ogo, Robby De Guzman, Scott Leon Guerrero, Valiant Borja, Zachary Cruz, and Ryan Quitugua.

The two Guam squads will be arriving on Saipan tomorrow with Quality Distributors holding a brief training session at the Oleai pitch at 11am and the U12 team playing a friendly match against players in the CNMI U12 National Elite Academy at 4pm, also at the Oleai pitch.

Meanwhile, NMIFA is inviting the public to watch the games and support the participating squads.