Kaike triumph, Ol’Aces victory dominate headlines

Triathletes Maimi Shimizu and Ken Halliday and the O’Aces basketball team were clearly the best stories in sports this past week.

Shimizu and Halliday made history when they became the first participants from the CNMI to complete the Kaike Triathlon during its 28th staging last July 20 in Tottori Prefecture, Yonago City in Kaike, Japan.

Shimizu finished the course in 10:42:32, which was 103rd overall and seventh among women participants. Tinian transplant Halliday, meanwhile, crossed the finish line 201st overall with a time of 11:31:43

Ol’Aces, for their part, took home the Inaugural FMI Inter-Color Basketball League championship trophy after finally completing its Game 3 win against Advance X-Terminators, 124-110, Tuesday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The final game of the best-of-three series between the Oleai team and the pennant champions was originally played last July 17, but an unexpected power outage stalled Ol’Aces’ march to the championship with 3:30 left in the contest and Ol’Aces ahead by 13 points, 109-96.

In other sports news last week, Rusty Musca won the 2008 PBA Bowler of the Year Tournament, two age group records were broken in the 2008 SSC Summer Classic, Ronald Villafria took part in the Mt. Fuji Marathon, and the CNMI bagged third in the 2008 Asia-Pacific Little League Tournament in Hong Kong.

It was a Cinderella story for Musca after he was the 13th and final qualifier for the nine-game roll-off last July 20 but then proceeded to top it before out-dueling youth bowler Raymond Zapanta in the finals.

Musca lost Game 1, 165-210, but rebounded nicely by beating Zapanta, 150-143, in Game 2 to win one of local bowling’s most coveted trophies.

Grace Kimball and Kensuke Kimura, for their part, reset age group records after taking part in the 2008 SSC Summer Classic last July 18 and 19 at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool in Marpi.

Kimball made waves in the pool when her 1:05.92 in the 100m freestyle set a new record in the girls’ 12-and-under age group, while Kimura broke Robert Jordan’s long-standing 1,500m freestyle age group record by swimming it in 19:43.27

Villafria, for his part, already went through four pairs of running shoes during his practice ascents and descents to the 12,388-foot Mt. Fuji.

The CNMI Major League All-Stars, on the other hand, salvaged third place when they beat South Korea, 12-7, in the battle of pool runners-up last Thursday in the 2008 Little League Asia-Pacific Tournament at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.

The Ford Rangers and Tanapag Falcons split the first two games of their best-of-three semifinal series in the 2008 Budweiser Saipan Major League last Wednesday and Friday at the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field.

Ditto for Finance/Shipping and Casino Titans after the former leveled their best-of-three championship series in the 7th Annual Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino Inter-Departmental Basketball League at a game apiece following a 75-63 victory last July 20. Casino Titans took Game 1, 91-71, last July 17.