Little Leaguers finish tied with HK in Pool A

The 2015 Little League Asia-Pacific and Middle East Tournament is in its 7th day of the competition and the strong CNMI Little League All-Star team, that’s made up of 13 boys and one girl, was able to win two of the four games in the Pool A division.

The Pool A division consists of teams from China, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the CNMI. The CNMI beat China, 15-5, on their first game and two days later beat Saudi Arabia, 12-8. On July 17, the CNMI played against Hong Kong but lost the game by a tight one, a point. Playing against the strong Philippines team the following day, the CNMI team, unfortunately, lost by a very close 2 points.

Consequently, the CNMI tied with Hong Kong for 2nd place in the Pool A games but Hong Kong will be the team advancing to the playoffs due to a technical rule of the tournament.

Giving it their all and starting off the competition strong, the CNMI team should surely be very proud of their performance and especially proud to be representing the CNMI and its people. The team can now celebrate their accomplishments by enjoying the rest of their trip and cheering on for the other Asia-Pacific and Middle East teams still in the tournament until they return back home on Friday, July 29, at 1am.

The CNMI team has already experienced quite a trip so far, with some of the players leaving Saipan and their families for the very first time, having to deal with a delayed flight out of Japan to China for over 24 hours due to the storm this past week, and finally arriving in Guilin, China on July 12 to be welcomed by extreme heat of over a 100 C.

According to one of the players’ parent Martha Mendiola, her 13-years-old son, Donaven M. Deleon Guerrero, said that it’s very hot in Guilin but that he’s having so much fun. The team was also hosted in Guilin by their major sponsor Skywalker Communications Groups managing director Dr. Hu Bo, who personally had one of his Beijing staff fly to Guilin to take the CNMI team, their coaches, and chaperones on a short tour and to also support them while there.

With some time off after the games these next few days, the CNMI team and entourage will hopefully be exploring Guilin more with tours scheduled in the week and also hopefully visiting another mall before they depart back home.

Aside from the monetary donation Dr. Bo from Skywalker proudly presented to the team and their parents before they left to China, Dr. Bo was on top of the team’s daily games and activities and most importantly, made sure that they be well cared for and attended to while in Guilin. Dr. Bo is very proud of the Little League All-Star team, their coaches, chaperones and their dedicated parents and hopes the team will be enjoying the rest of their trip and will have a safe and pleasant journey back home.

Dr. Bo would like to congratulate the Major Division Little League All-Star team for their stellar performance at the 2015 Little League Asia-Pacific and Middle East Tournament, expresses his great gratitude to the CNMI community and the other sponsors for their support and also extends his gratitude again to the players, coaches, family members, volunteers, and acting governor Ralph DLG Torres for joining him last July 7 at the Carolinian Utt when he hosted a party for the team before they departed for their competition.

Courtesy of Dr. Bo, his staff in Guilin and the Skywalker Communications Group, more pictures of the CNMI team at the tournament can be accessed by following the “2015 Liberation Day Festival” on Facebook, “CNMILibDay2015” on Instagram and @CNMI2015 on Twitter. (PR)