THE Marianas International Basketball League has posted episode three of its YouTube series titled Kings of the Game.
Richard McWilliams fouls Coby Santos in midair during a Kings of the Game match at the ACS gym.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
It features coaches Clint Albert and Elias Rangamar who share a few stories about their own basketball journey.
The highlights of the episode, however, are the eight players battling for the King of the Game title.
Stories
Coach Rangamar said that in his younger days he liked soccer, but eventually, he fell in love with basketball.
Coach Albert, for his part, got into basketball when he was 11, thanks to a relative who constantly challenged him to a game.
Coach Albert said he became interested in coaching after an injury. He got a coaching job when he still lived in Macau, winning a total of five championships in recreational and corporate leagues.
Coach Rangamar said it was in the 1980s when he was offered to coach a youth team which then won the championship.
Asked about his coaching philosophy, Coach Albert said: “My philosophy is very simple. Number 1 is defense. You can score a bunch and be the best player, but without defense I don’t think you can win any championship. One thing that is very crucial is how to ‘gel’ a team, how to make them a family. And how to run a team.”
For Coach Rangamar, his goal initially was to “win, win, win.”
He added, “I worked my a** off down to the ground. But through the years, it became about the athletes. You can find a kid who is a natural to the sport, and you should nurture his talent. I’d rather nurture a kid. Championships will follow.”
Final 8
As for the final eight players of the Kings of the Game one-on-one matches, the first battle was between Richard McWilliams and Stephen Erdene.
It was all about basketball skills and McWilliams excelled using the range from behind the three-point line to his advantage en route to an 11-6 victory.
Next up were Coby Santos and Jeff Castro. It was a close match with several lead exchanges and a variety of shots from all distances. With the score even at 11, Santos delivered the game-winning shot from beyond the arc to advance to the final four.
The third match was won by Douglas Schmidt who faced Dean Blake. Although both players were evenly matched, Schmidt was given a free pass after Blake, unfortunately, sustained an injury and was unable to continue.
The final game of the night was claimed by Mac Mintak who used speed over precision to defeat three-point specialist Preston Basa.
