THE 2023 NMI-Pohnpei Goodwill Basketball Games concluded Friday on a high note.
“It was definitely a successful event,” said James Lee, Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation president, who also thanked and recognized the event sponsors Marpac, Grace Sablan, and Tan Holdings/Tan Siu Lin Foundation as well as the volunteers, table officials and referees.
The event featured 5v5 games for the first three days and the more intense 3×3 format in the last two days.
James said the NMIBF wants to return the favor and play in Pohnpei.
“Pohnpei has invited us, and the whole objective is to bring back the camaraderie so hopefully we get to go down there next year,” Lee said as he commended Pohnpei’s basketball players “for their talent despite limited resources.
The original goal of reviving the Micronesia Basketball Tournament or MBT was not successful, but Benjamin Peterson, head coach of the Pohnpei men’s basketball team, was happy that the goodwill games with the NMI pulled through.
“We’ve been training for the MBT since January, but it didn’t pan out because of the typhoon in Guam so we agreed to [the goodwill games], and we are very happy to be here,” he said.
Peterson said the NMI’s facility is “amazing.”
Randy Helgenberger, coach of the Pohnpei women’s team, said: “I’m so glad that the NMI accommodated us…. Hopefully, this will stir things up. We would love to host the NMI — we’re ready to host them.”
Asked about the goodwill games, Pohnpei Sen. Jason Walter, who traveled to Saipan to support his teams said, “Overall, I love it. We should keep doing this and invite other islands.”
Walter played in the 2006 Micronesian Games hosted by Guam and is the first basketball player to become a politician in Pohnpei.
“We need to keep the camaraderie going,” he said. “We are all Micronesians at the end of the day.”
James Lee
Benjamin Peterson
