Eliminating both defending champion Palau and the hosting team in a doubleheader last Wednesday, team CNMI was only one win away from taking the top spot.
Guam kicked off to a solid start and gained two runs in the first inning. The CNMI retaliated on a four-run third inning and scored one run in the fifth. They capped the eighth and ninth innings with three more runs while Guam slipped in the offense.
Team CNMI’s road to victory started with a 9-4 win versus Samoa last Saturday. They previously lost two straight games against Guam (5-6) and New Caledonia (2-3). They defeated Fiji, 2-1 prior to the playoffs and edged Palau, 1-0 last week Tuesday.
The team is made up of Vicente Cepeda, Jerome Delos Santos, Franco Flores, Miguel and Jesus Iguel, Thomas Joab, Joshua Jones, Byron Kaipat, Keoni Lizama, Juan Maratita, Tyrone Omar, Manny Sablan, Craig Sanchez, Elton Santos, and Eric Tenorio. They are headed by manager Tony Rogolifoi.
In athletics, 16-year-old Rachel Abrams completed the women’s 200-meter finals with 27.48 seconds. Papua New Guinea’s Toea Wisil took first place at 24.61 seconds, followed by Fiji’s Paulini Korowaqa (25.37) and PNG’s Venessa Waro (25.38).
In beach volleyball, teammates Tyce Mister and Chris Nelson fell in two consecutive games versus PNG (18-21, 21-17, 11-15) and Vanuatu (11-21, 12-21).
