Mobil caging moved to Feb. 24, PIA out

The kick-off date for the 2005 Mobil Oil Marianas Co-ed Invitational Basketball League has been moved to Feb. 24 because of the non-availability of the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

League coordinator Abner Venus also said that Pacific Island Aviation has pulled out of the annual basketball competition hosted by the gas company following the fold-up of PIA’s operations in the Marianas.

“We had to move the start of the league because the [2005] Island Wide Volleyball League is not finished using the venue yet and the finals of the [2004] Government Basketball League has been pushed back for as much as whole week,” he said. “It’s also unfortunate that we had to bid PIA goodbye.”

Venus said the postponement of the opening would give the 10 remaining teams more time to prepare for the league.

Originally scheduled to start yesterday, the islands’ only co-ed basketball league welcomes two new teams, McDonald’s and the CNMI women’s national team, and has allowed two powerhouse teams— Tan Holdings Corp. and Dai-Ichi Saipan Beach Hotel—to merge for the upcoming season.

The rest of the participating teams in the Mobil Oil Marianas Co-ed Invitational Basketball League are Commonwealth Utilities Corp., Microl-Toyota, Aqua Resort Club, Hyatt Regency Saipan, Pacific Development, Inc., and host Mobil Oil Marianas.

Games of the Mobil invitational are set for Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Oleai Sports Complex venue. The first game is scheduled at 6:30pm with the second game expected to start at 8pm or immediately after the first game.

Venus said the league would have a single-round elimination, where the Top 4 teams advance to the Final Four.

In the semifinals, the top seed goes up against the fourth seed and the No. 2 and No. 3 teams square off. Victors of both contests advance to the winner-take-all championship.

Aqua Resort emerged as champion of the Mobil invitational after defeating Mobil in a winner-take-all finals match, 103-93, last May 23 at the Ada Gym.

The win snapped a 13-year title draught for the Achague-based hotel. The Mobil crown was previously worn by THC (2001), Microl (2002), and PDI (2003).

For more information on the 2005 Mobil Oil Marianas Invitational Co-ed Basketball League, contact Venus at 287-5911 or Mobil’s Jojo Dadivas at 483-3363.