ESTABLISHED in 1975, the Ol’Aces club marked its 46th anniversary with a fundraising golf tournament at the Saipan Vegas golf course on Saturday.
The event also honored the original Ol’Aces youth squad which included coach Tony Satur, founding managers Tom Saures and the late Joe Limes.
Ol’Aces wanted to host a gathering to celebrate its 45th anniversary last year but it was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year, “we decided on a golf tournament because of the Covid-19 challenges,” Elias Rangamar told Variety. “Running an indoor event would’ve limited the number of participants, officials and volunteers due to the Covid-19 protocols.”
At the golf tournament on Saturday, Shirlyn Jones took home the Double Peoria title.
Sofia Heras finished second while Marco Peter was third. The other participants included Luis Iguel, Tom Tebuteb, Carl Hocog, K-Joe, Ed Kapileo, Darion Jones and Jerald Guerrero.
The closest to the pin winners were Carl Hocog for hole #1, Luis Iguel Jr. for hole #2, Leo Ruluked for hole #5, Tony Satur for hole #6 and Dennis Mendiola for hole #9 while Ned Norita took the prize for the longest drive on hole #7.
Honored for their contributions to the club, including its baseball and basketball programs, were the late Jess Wabol and long-time sports reporter Bob Coldeen of KSPN2.
The funds collected from the golf tournament will go toward the purchase of sports equipment and uniforms, and help pay for Ol’Aces’ upcoming events.
Asked how special was the club’s anniversary celebration, Rangamar answered, “Oh, it’s special. In my younger days, my dad used to take us to watch the games at the Mt. Carmel gym. He was an amateur photographer and he took a lot of pictures. Unfortunately, Typhoons Soudelour and Yutu damaged all his collections.”
He added, “Well, this celebration is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the club’s founders, coaches and players for having created a familial ambience for local sports through the years. We’ve been very fortunate to have had so many people from all walks of life go through the club’s programs and, most importantly, have moved on to become productive citizens.”
The original members of Ol’Aces were Tom Saures, Joe Limes, Tony Satur, Joe A. Lizama, Ray A. Tebuteb, Basillio W. Odoshi, Ambrose T. Ogumoro, Louie Tilipao, Manny L. Seman, Dave L. Laniyo, Rick I. Rangamar and Martin W. Iginoef.
The Ol’Aces board, for its part, would like to thank the following committee members who spearheaded the event: Chairman Jerry Ayuyu, Ned Norita and Carl Hocog.
“Lastly,” the board added, “big kudos to our major sponsor, Saipan Vegas Golf Resort & Slot Club and all our other sponsors.”
These included Max Development, Artman Corp., United Equipment, Johnny’s Bar, Kautz Glass, P&A DBA Winners Corp., MP Holdings, Pacific Marine, Oleai Beach Bar & Grill, Rep. Angel Demapan, Mark Sablan (GSM), Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Green Consume, AC Pacific LCC (I Love Saipan), McDonald’s of Saipan, and Marpac Distributors Inc.
Elias Rangamar, third left, poses with the other participants of the Ol’Aces golf tournament at the Saipan Vegas golf course on Saturday.
Shirlyn Jones makes the long distance putt during the Ol’Aces golf tournament at the Saipan Vegas golf course on Saturday.
