The tournament will kick off sometime in the last week of March. The competition will include a Settsu girl and boys’ teams to battle it out with the Saipan teams.
There will be four teams in each of the girls’ and boys’ divisions. Last year the competition was scheduled during Friday and Saturday where Friday’s competition was commenced in the Marianas High School gymnasium followed by the Saturday competition which was held at the Gilbert C. Ada gymnasium.
Upon their first arrival here on Saipan early 2009 the ladies dominated the bracket nailing the championship round of the friendly tournament. The All stars MISO cage belles did not stand a chance after Shiho Tokimoto garnered 19 points while her teammate connected to the basket for 16 points to snatch the lead away from team Saipan.
In 2009 the Settsu Red Impulse Boys Team suited only 6 players and lost a thrilling heartbreaker to the MHS Dolphins to reach the finals against the Saipan Southern High School Manta Rays. Last year, Settsu’s girls’ team made it to finals against the All Stars team, but lost the championship match, 75-54.
For the past two years, Susumu Sakaguchi, head coach of the Settsu Red Impulse 17-and-under Boys Basketball Team, and director of the SRI Basketball Club from Osaka, Japan graciously donated several goods for all of the tournament participants, coaches and volunteers as a continued sign of the established friendship between the CNMI and Japan, and most importantly, the sports-tourism relationship BANMI continues to provide through international basketball.
Some of the equipment that were given were a number of essential basketball items and high-tech equipment manufactured by Molten, Inc. of Japan- an official basketball equipment supplier to FIBA- which included five sets of game vests, ball bags, and a state-of-the-art portable scoreboard/timer and 24 second shot clocks.
This year’s competition, team Settsu will face basketball teams from both the Marianas Inter-Scholastic Sports Organization and the Coalition of Private Schools Sports Associations.
