CNMI unbeaten in Senior League

Players of the CNMI Senior All-Stars run around the field to warm up for their game against the Philippines in the World Series qualifier yesterday at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga, Philippines. (Contributed Photo)

The CNMI Senior All-Stars are off to a good start in the 2014 Little League Asia Pacific-Middle East Regional Tournament, winning their first two matches in the Philippines.

The Commonwealth bets in the Senior League kicked off their bid in the World Series qualifier with a 15-3 spanking of Indonesia in last Sunday’s opener at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. Then yesterday, the Patrick Tenorio-managed squad edged host and defending champion Philippines, 5-4, to take the early lead in the six-team field.

The CNMI Senior All-Stars will go for their third win today when they face long-time rival Guam, while the Commonwealth’s last two matches will be against India (Wednesday) and New Zealand (Thursday). The Top 2 teams after the round-robin elimination will duel for the championship and the ticket to the World Series.

The CNMI took a 4-0 lead in the first five innings of its game against the Philippines and survived the host;s rally in the last two innings. No other details of the match were made available on the tournament website.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth also won its first game in the Junior League, outclassing Vietnam last Sunday, 8-5.

The CNMI Junior All-Stars were aiming for a 2-0 record in Pool A yesterday, as they were set to collide against Guam. Tomorrow, the Bernard Cabrera-managed team will be pitted against the Philippines, while it will close out its pool assignment with a match versus Chinese-Taipei on Thursday. The Top 2 teams in each pool will square off in the semis with the last two teams left standing battling for the championship. Pool B has Qatar, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and India.

In the Little League and Big League divisions, the CNMI dropped its opener. Manager Manny Evangelista and his Little League players lost to Saudi Arabia, 4-9, while Big League manager Joseph Flores and his wards fell to Chinese-Taipei, 0-9.

The CNMI Big League All-Stars were hoping to bounce back yesterday against the Philippines before they face Guam at the end of the first round today. The Big League division has a two-round robin format in the elimination with the Top 2 teams advancing to the finals.

The Little League has a round-robin format and teams are divided into two pools with the CNMI grouped with Vietnam, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Chinese-Taipei in Pool A. Pool B has the Philippines, New Zealand, South Korea, Guam, and Indonesia. The Top 2 teams in each pool will march into the semifinals with the winners in the Final Four pairing barging into the finals.

The CNMI was scheduled to play Vietnam in the Little League division yesterday, while the former’s last three matches will be against Dubai (Tuesday), Hong Kong (Wednesday), and Chinese-Taipei (Thursday).

In the 50-70 division, the CNMI, represented by players from Tinian, was set to debut versus Hong Kong yesterday, but results of their match were unavailable at press time. The Commonwealth is in Pool B, which also has Japan and Thailand. Pool A is composed of Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Dubai, and India.