Martech-Ol’Aces claims 1st ‘Mich’ Cup 

Martech-Ol’Aces defeated Team Marianas in the winner-take-all championship game of the 2023 Michelob Ultra Cup Men’s Islandwide Basketball League on Tuesday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

From 12 teams to the final two, Martech Ol’Aces and Team Marianas were the top-tier teams of the league with the mighty Martech-Ol’Aces showing Team Marianas who’s the top dog with a 92-56 blowout victory.

The game did not start off without a hitch as a few minutes into the first quarter, an accident occurred as Team Marianas’ Coby Santos and Martech-Ol’Aces’ Douglas “Spider” Schmidt collided when they both went after the ball and Schmidt’s forehead split open.

The show must go on as Schmidt stayed in the game after they patched his head and went on to score the most points for his team with 22.

The game was a nailbiter in the first quarter as Santos bursted into the scene with 11 markers and trailed Ol’Aces by just 2 points, 23-21.

Team Marianas’ offense fell apart simultaneously as Ol’Aces’ defense tightened, with Ol’Aces limiting Team Marianas to just 9 points. Ol’Aces’ Riley Brungard went deep twice, with Aiferson Atan chipping in one as well as they pulled away from Team Marianas for a 53-30 lead after the second quarter.

Airson Atan and Schmidt padded the Ol’Aces lead in the last quarters with 20 points for Airson by the end of the game.

Santos, with 24 points, was shut down in the last quarter as Ol’Aces’ tightened their defense around him. Teammate Ervin Villarin took the reins and scored a total of 13 points.

Ol’Aces’ defense was impenetrable throughout the game and coupled with their impressive offense, they blew out Team Marianas for the House at MarPac perpetual trophy, $500 in cash, five cases of Michelob Ultra, and 17 Michelob Ultra diddy bags.

Team Marianas’ Eli Garcia, center, is the recipient of the Uncle Paul Shimizu MVP Award of the 2023 Michelob Ultra Cup Men’s Islandwide Basketball League season.(LEIGH GASES)

Player/coach for the champions, Preston Basa, said that really their strategy in the finals was their defense. Their defense was like security at Fort Knox and it was evident throughout the season as they went undefeated in the regular season and in the playoffs.

Basa added that the league was “good. It was good to be back on the floor. Obviously basketball has been out of Saipan for quite a while, so we’re happy to have all the boys back and it’s always good to win.”

On Schmidt’s injury and staying in the game to continue playing, “nobody can tell him not to play. Injured or not, he’ll be on the floor.”

Basa said that their sponsor, Martech will sponsor them again the next Michelob Ultra Cup season and they look forward to defending their title. “It was a great tournament all around. Big shout out to MarPac for bringing basketball back to the CNMI. My huge thank you to all the volunteers to help put this together. Without the volunteers, sports in the CNMI will be difficult so we thank all of them for their time.”

James Lee, who wore many hats for the league—coach for Team Marianas, sales manager at MarPac, and president of the Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation—said that the league turned out great.

“This is our Michelob Ultra men’s league in a while and it was a great turnout. I definitely know we can do a lot better, so we look forward to next year,” he said. As for the teams that participated, “it really started out with a lot of excitement… And I think now they know what to expect playing indoors, with air con, and having fans… What I was hoping for is kind of leveling up on every aspect—not only as athletes, where they need to be coaching wise, what they need to do, and also the expectations of what the fans need. So I think overall we’ve accomplished that so far.”

The Uncle Paul Shimizu MVP Award went to Team Marianas’ Eli Garcia who received an MVP trophy, $200 cash, a case of Michelob Ultra, a Michelob Ultra cooler, a Michelob Ultra Yeti flask, and other Michelob Ultra gear—which went to an adult because he is under 21 years old.

Martech Ol’Aces 91 – Schmidt 22, Airson Atan 20, Lizama 13, Brungard 11, Aiferson Atan 7, Kabiriel 4, Pelisamen 4, Barcinas 4, Libuw 2, Basa 2.
Team Marianas 56 – C. Santos 24, Villarin 13, K. Santos 6, G. Sablan 5, Richardson 5, Raquepo 3.
Scoring by quarters: 23-21, 53-30; 70-43, 91-56.