Jr. Nationals to debut vs Guam in Oceania caging

The CNMI Jr. Nationals will square off against Guam in its opening game in the 2008 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament at the University of Guam Fieldhouse in Mangilao next month.

The Oceania youth basketball competition will run from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 with eight teams competing for the championship.

The CNMI Junior Nationals are in Pool B along with Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and Guam. Pool A is composed of Australia, Palau, Fiji and Tahiti.

Defending champion New Zealand, which beat Australia in the finals in 2006, 104-94, is not joining this year’s tournament.

That leaves Australia as the team to beat in the biennial meet, although Junior National coach Rufino Aguon believes New Caledonia and Tahiti also have tough lineups for the tournament.

Aguon’s wards will be facing New Caledonia in their last game in Pool A on Sept. 30. The Junior Nationals second game will be against Papua New Guinea on Sept. 29.

Playing against Guam in their first game is sort of good news for the Junior Nationals, as they are quite familiar with Guam’s style of play.

The CNMI and Guam played in last year’s Micronesian Basketball Tournament with the latter winning in the finals against Saipan’s Southern Sonics. The NMI Junior Nationals were unbeaten in the pool play in MBT, but lost to the Sonics in the semis, foiling their bid for a finals duel with Guam.

Aguon does not know if Guam will be fielding the same players who played in MBT in next month’s tournament. But whether Guam uses the same lineup or not, Aguon already told his players that the Oceania caging is very much different from MBT.

“Unfortunately I don’t how who will play for Guam or how other teams play. But I do know that their program is organized and intense,” Aguon said.

“Now, our players need to understand that this is a very different tournament and none of the kind of games they have experienced here and in MBT. We basically told them what they will be against, and at this same time we must train hard and let the chips fall as they may. The truth is the best motivation,” Aguon said.

Aguon named the Junior Nationals last week. Making it on the team are Jericho Cruz, Jayvan Tarkong, Allen Moses, Marvin Rabauliman, Jomar Tumaquip, James Camacho, Joseph White, Jose Castro, Bill Babauta and Antonio Borja.

Except for Babauta and Borja, the rest of the team has been training regularly at the NMC Gym and Oleai track oval since July. Babauta and Borja are now based in Guam, studying at the University of Guam, and will only be joining the team next month.

‘They are doing their own workout so they will be ready for the tournament,” Aguon said.

Cruz is among the five returnees to the team and will be the focal point of the Junior Nationals offense. He was the top scorer for the CNMI team in the MBT. Babauta, Rabauliman, Moses, and Tarkong also played in the MBT.

“We will probably have the smallest lineup in the tournament. With a small lineup, we will be a fast and defense-oriented team,” Aguon said.

This year’s Oceania caging will feature side events, such as coaching clinics, fitness testing and assessment, health seminars, and a 3-on-3 tournament.

The coaching clinics will be held on Sept. 28 with Patrick Hunt, Oceania president of the World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC) as facilitator. Joanne Ferris of the Oceania National Olympic Committee will discuss HIV/AIDS Awareness programs and other health-related topics.

A 3-on-3 tournament is set for Oct. 2 to familiarize players with the event’s rules and regulation. The same tournament is part of the calendar of events in the inaugural Youth Olympics, which Singapore will be hosting in 2010.

After the Oceania caging and its side events, organizers will choose players who will make it to the FIBA Oceania All-Star team. The All-Star squad will then compete in Australia early next year.

Meanwhile, Aguon is asking the community to support the NMI teams (women’s and men’s) bid in the Oceania caging. Donations are welcome and can be given to officials of the Basketball Association of Northern Mariana Islands. [B][I](Roselyn B. Monroyo)[/I][/B]