Evenflow and Ghasias Brothers will open the league with a 1 p.m. match, hoping to bring in the same, if not more, thrill than they have brought in previous seasons.
Evenflow is the 2007 and 2008 Rocball champion, while Ghasias Brothers are the triple-crown winners of past Rocball seasons on island.
The other teams that will see some actions at MHS Gym are Uraiwak, Naturals, Okies, Sail Rebels, No-Mercy, Section “A”, FSM Boys, Prims, Fanians, and Islanders.
The following are the schedule of games on Saturday:
Naturals vs. Uraiwak – 2 p.m.; Okies vs. No-Mercy – 3 p.m.; Soul Rebels vs. Section “A” – 4 p.m.; FSM Rebels vs. Fanians – 5 p.m.; and Prims vs. Islanders – 6 p.m.
James W. Feger of World Rocball Organization introduced the sport to the local community in the early 80s until it has reached some level of popularity among young people today.
Considered as “Saipan’s Own Sports Game”, Rocball is the first team net sport in the world to develop and use offensive and defensive scoring, multiple-point scoring, penalty-point scoring, and a quarter/set system of play for a team net sport.
It is also often described as a hybrid sport between volleyball and soccer.
For those who are not familiar with the sport, Rocball is played on a slightly modified standard size of a volleyball court with an overhead net bisecting team courts, and a 6 by 12-foot soccer-type goal situated 10 feet behind each court.
The receiving team only has two hits to return a served ball. If a receiving team can return a served ball in two hits, each team has five hits on the ball until a point is scored.
Accordingly, a team must have the serve to win set or game.
Rocball is played in four sets.
It is said that Rocball has been an annual sport event in the commonwealth since 1983.
