TINIAN Athletics Sports Association president Jose P. Kiyoshi thanked the island’s mayor, Edwin Aldan, lawmakers and other officials for providing assistance to four athletes who participated in the national baseball team tryouts on Saipan.
Kiyoshi was likewise grateful to the Saipan baseball officials for including Rota and Tinian in the tryouts. “It was a great gesture from the Saipan Baseball League,” he added.
He said the Tinian officials covered the week-long expenses of the island’s four baseball players on Saipan, including their travel costs, room, car rental and food.
The four are Peter Cepeda, Bradley Lizama, Esteven and Dustin Sablan.
Considering the travel and the other costs that will be incurred by Tinian and Rota athletes who want to participate in tryouts on Saipan, Kiyoshi believes that the Northern Marianas Sports Association should automatically reserve slots on the CNMI team for the athletes of Tinian and Rota.
He noted that the Tinian athletes who participated in the baseball tryouts showed they could play at CNMI-level. “They can stand up there and compete with the best of the players from Saipan. We have great talents on Tinian and Rota but the challenges are overwhelming,” Kiyoshi said. “Because of Covid-19, for example, the inter-island flights were discontinued for a while.”
