The NMI Men’s Basketball Team
The NMI Women’s Basketball Team
TEAM Marianas’ basketball teams are off to a strong start in the 2024 Micronesian Games with the men’s team trouncing Kiribati, 73-43, Tuesday in Majuro, the Marshall Islands.
The NMI fielded its experienced players — Marvin Rabauliman, Jack Lizama, Preston Basa, Douglas Schmidt and Coby Santos — who quickly set the tone as they complimented each other with proper ball movement that created scoring opportunities. Coby Santos led the offensive assault with 14 points while Basa showed his extended range with three triples to seize a comfortable double-digit lead, 28-10.
The rest of Team Marianas were given a taste of the action during the second period. Although production slowed down on offense, they managed to keep a tight grip on the defensive end, allowing Kiribati to score only seven points while Antoni Ogumoro and Aiferson Atan kept the NMI afloat, 42-19, going into halftime.
Team Marianas continued to control the tempo throughout the third with Santos picking up where he left off, contributing nine points while Greg Sablan delivered four points to further stretch the deficit, 57-30.
Kiribati’s biggest run came during the fourth and final quarter as their aggression paid off, drawing a handful of fouls and scoring six points off free throw attempts. But they could not stop the bleeding as Team Marianas’ DJ Ong and Jack Lizama carried their team to victory, 73-43.
For their part, the NMI women’s team dominated Nauru, 55-37.
