NMIBF successfully resurrects village hoops

Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation vice president David Apatang does the ceremonial toss between Tanapag and Garapan in the first game of the 2022 Marianas Village Pride Basketball League last Saturday at the Gillette Multi-Purpose Gymnasium in Gualo Rai. (MARK RABAGO)

The 2022 Marianas Village Pride Basketball League finally got rolling last Saturday at the Gillette Multi-Purpose Gymnasium in Gualo Rai.

The league marked the successful return of village hoops with the Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation-organized competition drawing 19 teams in the U13, U18, and women’s open divisions.

The league, which is the successor of the Inter-Village Youth Basketball League that was run by the defunct Division of Sports and Recreation, was supposed to kick off last Oct. 15 but a leaking roof at the TSL Sports Complex postponed the opening for a week.

Tanapag’s Dale Garcia goes up for a shot against Garapan in their U13 division game in the 2022 Marianas Village Pride Basketball League last Saturday at the Gillette Multi-Purpose Gymnasium in Gualo Rai. (MARK RABAGO)

When it finally got going last Saturday it was routs galore as Tanapag’s U13 and U18 teams and San Vicente’s women’s open team wiped the floor clean of their respective opponents. 

In the first game, Tanapag spotted Garapan 12-0 in the opening minutes of their U13 clash before settling for a 22-6 lead at halftime.

Garapan continued to grope for form in the second half, as Tanapag cruised to the 41-point win. Dane Tibayan led the victors with 16 points, while teammate Dale Garcia added 10 markers.

Leon Galarse was a one-man army for Garapan as he scored all but 6 of the team’s total output with 22 points.

In the second game, Destiny Pangelinan showed that she’s truly the future of women’s hoops after leading San Vicente to a 45-28 drubbing of San Jose, Tinian.

The women’s national team mainstay fired 32 points that was spiked by seven triples. Fellow point guard and national player Irish Pagarao paced San Jose in  the loss with 12 points.

Tanapag then made it 2-0 for the day when their U18 team crushed Dandan, 62-25.

Dandan actually was still within firing range in the first half as they only trailed by 12 points. Tanapag, however, blew them out of the water in the second half to turn the rest of the game into garbage time.

Gino Asauo top-scored for Tanapag with 18 points, while national player Frankie Satur controlled the inside with his 15 markers. Kenny Lacquian was the lone bright spot for Dandan with his 13 points.

NMIBF president James Lee and Northern Marianas Sports Association president Jerry Tan graced the league’s opening and encouraged villages to create their own hoops programs and own teams for the grass-roots development of the sport.

First Game
Tanapag 53 – Tibayan 16, Garcia 10, Tenorio 6, Hong 6, Lucerio 5, Rectitud 4, Murphy 2, Surima 2, Esdrelon 2.
Garapan 28 – Galarse 22, McClure 2, Maratita 1.
Scoring by halves: 22-6, 65-24.

Second Game
San Vicente 45 – Pangelinan 32, Roligat 7, Ramos 2, Sagarino 2.
San Jose 28 – Pagarao 12, Pablo 7, Alferos 4, Breakenridge 4.
Scoring by halves: 28-17, 45-28.

Third Game
Tanapag 62 – G. Asauo 22, Satur 15, Hocog 7, Toves 6, Propst 4, Roquepo 2, Abendan 2, H. Asauo 2.
Dandan 35 – Lacquian 13, David 7, Suba 8, Tengco 3, Balignasay 2, Islam 2.
Scoring by halves: 29-17, 62-35.