Typhoon Nabi blows away local sports

Mother Nature continues to be a big part of the 2005 Saipan Major League season, this time, spoiling the scheduled Game 3 of the best-of-five championship series as Typhoon Nabi dropped a load of wet showers yesterday.

With the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field in no condition for play, the Northern Yankees and Ford Rangers will have to wait a little longer before banging heads to see who gets a lead in the competitive series.

The Yankees won Game 1 about two weeks ago and had to wait until last Monday before trying for a 2-0 lead, but the Rangers managed to muster enough juice for a late game rally that propelled them to a 7-6 victory to knot the series at 1-1.

The two might have to wait a while again if rains continue to pound the Tan Ko field.

Meanwhile, the second night of action for the young 2005 Budweiser Cup BANMI Men’s Island-wide Basketball League was also affected by Nabi as officials will have to revise the regular season schedule.

According to BANMI official Elias Rangamar, games featuring Aon and Nissan Titans and the Hoopaholics and Masters Selection will be rescheduled and would possibly be played next week.

The two have yet to make their debut as the league just kicked off on Monday.

In the season opener, Michelob-Masters Construction rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat two-time defending champion Bud Light-Toyota, 91-83, while the young O’Douls-Ol’Aces led from beginning to end and left with a 101-83 victory over Budweiser-Wells Fargo.

All games will be played on Mondays and Wednesdays, with the first game expected to tip off at 7pm or immediately following the conclusion of the scheduled regular season game in the Saipan Rotary Summer Youth Basketball League. The second at 8:30pm.

Teams will battle through two rounds, facing each team twice before the conclusion of the regular season. The playoffs will feature a single elimination format, ending with a best-of-three championship series.

Also taking a back seat is the Rotary league, as games in the first three days of the week were postponed.

On Tuesday, Rangamar said the bouts featuring the Garapan Rollers II and Bwibwiis in the opener and G-Rollers III and Chalan Kanoa Saints had to be rescheduled due to leaks on the roof of the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Even today’s game between undefeated teams Southern Sonics and G-Rollers I will most likely be postponed as water from the heavy rains leaking into the gym will serve as a hazard to anyone taking the court.

Earlier in the year, Division of Sports and Recreation director Tony Rogolifoi expressed his disappointment with contractor Railings Pacific, Inc., which was tasked with repairing damages to the roof caused by Supertyphoon Chaba.

According to Rogolifoi, funding for the repair was attained through FEMA. Railings Pacific was awarded the job of repairing the damages, and began working on the problems four months ago.

“They were up there doing repair, and instead of solving the problem, things got worse,” Rogolifoi said, citing that the facility is faced with more leaks. “It’s unsafe and two months ago, I warned them [Railings Pacific] that rainy season is coming and that they need to start working on the roof. I told them that we’ll be seeing a lot of cancellation of games because of leaks that need to fixed.”

Rogolifoi stressed that he is trying to work with Railings Pacific to deal with the problem.

“It’s affecting and interrupting the indoor activities,” he said.