By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

With about a month left before the NMI Junior Nationals leave for Guam for the Micronesian 19-and-under Basketball Tournament, coach Rufino Aguon and his coaching staff will be increasing the pace of the team’s training and will be discussing more game situations next month.
“We will be concentrating on team cohesiveness and increase shooting practice,” said Aguon, who admits that although he likes the players’ unselfishness on offense, he wants them to take charge when the opportunity is there.
“The biggest improvement in their game is they are always looking for an open person and passing the ball. But this is becoming a weakness because they are passing even when the opportunity is already there,” Aguon said.
This too unselfish game was evident in the NMI Junior Nationals’ defeat at the hands of FMI/PTI last Monday, 90-104.
With too much passing and speed, the Junior Nationals allowed costly turnovers turning a close game into a 14-point win for FMI.
Before losing to FMI, the NMI Junior Nationals had won their first two games.
“In the first two games, they followed the game plan almost to the letter. This resulted in wins. The same game plan for the first two games was used. The game plan was to run our fastbreak and transition games every time we had the opportunity. If not then work our half court offense. This worked really well in the first half. But the boys deviated from it in the fourth period. They got rattled by a more experienced and stronger team and were thrown off their game,” Aguon said.
“It was a good experience for them though, they need to understand that you must follow a plan first and the only time you change it is if it stops working for you. As part of their ongoing training, we had a discussion of the game at our last practice and talked over every part of it so they understood what happened, what they did wrong so we can correct them mentally,” he added.
Aguon said games in the Bud Cup are really helping the mental conditioning of his team.
“The Bud Cup is great for the boys. They are playing against seasoned players that are smarter, bigger and stronger. It’s really helping us to learn the game and raise their basketball IQ,” Aguon said.
The NMI Junior Nationals are also playing in the Rotary and they are using the 18-and-under tournament to orchestrate their plays.
“Most of the teams in the Rotary and very young, small and just started playing basketball This could be a negative because you may get the false impression that you can just run over any team. As coaches we are aware of this, so Ed Manalili (assistant coach) and I use the Rotary to practice our set plays and play the game in a different way and at a slower pace,” he added.
Physically, Aguon said the Junior Nationals are okay.
“The physical conditioning is getting better for some, others are not completing the full workout because of work and school. But we have to live with what we can get, and hope this is enough. We stress the importance of this every time,” Aguon said.
The MBT will run from Nov. 18 to 24 at the University of Guam Fieldhouse and Aguon said he will no longer make changes in his lineup.
The Junior Nationals are composed of Jericho Cruz, Jayvan Tarkong, Bill Babauta, Damien Deleon Guerrero, Jerome Norita, Allen Moses, Marvin Rabauliman, Keoni Chariton, Steve Tenorio, Won Joo Jung and Frank Basa.
“These guys have put in the time and will be rewarded with playing time. They understand that what they put in at practice and in performance in the ongoing games will determined their role on the team,” Aguon said.