Team Kio-Rampage finals set for Dec. 29

The Tinian Amateur Basketball Association announced that the finals of the Island-wide Men’s Bud Light Basketball League will now be played next week on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at the Tinian Youth Center.

TABA president Christopher SN King said the winner-take-all championship game between Team Kio and Rampage will start at 7pm. He also said there will no longer be any battle for third pitting Team CNMI as Devil Dog Warriors players are scheduled to leave the island that day.

“Reason for Team Marines pulling out because it’s their last day to head back to their homes/location/headquarters/training camp. So, it will be only one game next Wednesday. So, Team CNMI automatically takes third place,” he said.

King

King congratulated Team CNMI for taking third place and also thanked Devil Dog Warriors for taking part in the league.

“I want to appreciate them for their full support, assistance, commitment, hard work, sweat, and time during this pandemic. To all the players, thank you for their time, patience, and understanding especially during this era of COVID-19,” he said.

King also extended his gratitude to Tinian’s basketball-crazy fans for enduring the many postponements of the league due to the local spread of COVID-19.

“Special thanks to the fans. They were awesome with their loud cheers. Thank you so much for all your support even if we sometimes can’t hear the whistles being blown.”

After more than a month of postponement, TABA finally got on with the playoffs of the Island-wide Men’s Bud Light Basketball League last Nov. 22, but it proved to be short but sweet due to the pandemic reaching Tinian’s shores a couple of days after.

The first game of the Tinian caging semifinals saw undefeated Team Kio punch the first finals ticket with a 97-82 victory over Team CNMI. They will be joined in the championship by Rampage a few hours later after they defeated Devil Dog Warriors, 65-58, in the second game.

Team Kio’s Robert Reyes led all scorers with 29 points in the demolition of Team CNMI, while Dustin Sablan added 26 markers of his own. Dennis Borja and Louise Maligson paced Team CNMI in the loss with 22 and 20 markers, respectively.

Wesley Walker was the high-point man for Rampage with 25 points and he was ably supported by the 13 points of Leo Pascua. Devil Dog Warriors’ losing cause was led by the 23 points of Jake Montgomery with Damon Kada and Zjonti Kubinski adding 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The rest of the teams making up the Island-wide Men’s Bud Light Basketball League for 2021 are Power Builders, Ko Bees, RNV Construction, and SMA Flyers.