The opening ceremony will be at 1pm sharp so all players and coaches are highly advised to arrive at the gym early.
“On another note in regards to the schedules, you will notice that there will be 4 games on the opening day, January 17th, which is also a Holiday (Martin Luther King Day)” said tourney coordinator James Lee.
The games will all be played at the Gilbert C. Ada gymnasium every Monday and Wednesday. Games will be administered on the Fridays that do not fall on the government’s Austerity Fridays.
The league draws 9 competitive teams. The teams are: the returning Champions of 2009-2010 team PROSPECT, team MOBIL coached by Marvin Deocares, team IP&E KONFLIKT coached by Norman Del Rosario, team HOOPAHOLICS coached by Jerry Diaz, team OL ACES coached by Elias Rangamar, team NMC PROA coached by Rufino Aguon, the FUNDAMENTALISTS headed by Kirk Schuller, the ROLLERS brigaded by coach Joe Diaz, and team SATBAHI coached by Marlon Sison.
The league officials are requesting for all teams to turn in all the requirements on January 3rd, 2011. Final payments for the league are due on January 14th, 2011. Teams who do not meet this requirement will not be allowed to play and therefore will be submitted to a forfeit record.
Uniforms for all players must be ready before the team’s first game. Uniforms must have a number in the front as well as the back. Again, if the teams do not comply with this, they will be subjected to a forfeit game.
The league placed the cap at 9 teams for the upcoming league as the teams have recruited the best of the best players on Saipan.
Team Prospect consists of Coach/Player Perry Inos, brothers Eli and Derrick Aughenbaugh, Alex Lauron, Ehrol Peredo, Darwin Barbo, and Juan Camacho.
Team Mobil, headed by Coach Marvin Deocares, consists of Jun Estolas, George DeGuzman, Pando Muleta, Leo Factor, Gil Gapor, Marvin Rabauliman, and Bon Bon Tamayo.
Team IP&E Konflikt consists of Elmer Esdrelon, Jomar Tumaquip, Edsel Mendoza, Edwin Santos, Kae Bernardo, Bruce Berline, and Ivan Devero.
Team Hoopaholics consist of Ionis Rasa, Kelvin Fitial, Melvin Manibusan, John Sablan, James Villacrusis, Gus Palacios, and Ponce Rasa.
Team NMC PROA consists of mostly the national players, which are Pete Iguel, Peter Mendiola, Jack Lizama, Dan Barcinas, Joe Villacrusis, and Charles Quincy Johnson.
Team Ol Aces consists of both veterans and young guns such as Peter Camacho, Tyron Omar, Jose Tumaquip, Trevor Ogumoro, Marvin Rabaliman, Juan Maratita, and player/ Coach Elias Rangamar.
The Fundamentalists are players rounded up from the Football community. They are Daniel Stafford, Kirk Schuller, Hokyun Lee, Minki Kim, Ben Petesburg, Daewon Jeon, and Blair Fox.
The Rollers brigaded by coach Joe Diaz consists of Manny Matagolai, Ham Hambros, Phill Norita, Fredrick Litulumar, John Laniyo, Paul Camacho, and Don Teregeyo.
Some rosters that were turned in to the UBA officials had a player on another team which was branded a duplicate. Teams that do not have duplicates, their roster are final.
For the teams that have duplicate player(s), coaches have until January 7th to submit changes of those duplicate player(s) on the roster.
If not, the original roster will stand as it is, after January 7th. Which means that one team will be left with only 11 players or more depending on who that player(s) will be playing for at the start of the league. Just a reminder only the rosters that have duplicated names on them can be changed.
“Lastly, just a reminder to all coaches that there is a technical meeting this coming Monday, January 3rd, 5:30pm at the ADA Gym conference room. I highly recommend that you attend the meeting since we will be going over the ground rules as well as any new FIBA rules/regulations. Players are encouraged to participate” said James Lee in an email to the Marianas Variety.
$1000 in cash, a trophy, and a free entrance to the next season’s tournament is up for grabs for the worthy Champions of the competition. The finals regular season’s most valuable player will also receive a trophy, cell phone, and much more.
The league will follow the Round Robin format where all teams play each other once. A single elimination playoff between the top eight teams will then reign.
