Important meetings for NYBA today at Ada Gym

The newly formed Northern Youth Basketball Association will soon play host to its first tournament, but before doing so, officials have set a couple of mandatory meetings to be held today in preparation for the inaugural tourney.

A meeting for all coaches interested in fielding teams for the tournament will begin with registration at 8am today. The coaches meeting will continue until noon as officials will brief all in attendance on requirements, ground rules, expectations from players and coaches, defensive and offensive concepts, among others.

Another meeting will be held from 1pm to 4pm and is intended for all tournament volunteers and referees. Participants will be briefed on requirements, ground rules, expectations from players and coaches, referees goals and training, table officiating purpose and training, and statistician purpose and training, among others.

NYBA was originally planning to host a league in October, however, officials Joe Diaz and George Cruz were both selected to guide the Saipan Rotary All Stars in the upcoming Micronesian Basketball Tournament and decided to kick off with a tournament instead.

The three-week tournament is tentatively set to kick off on Nov. 21 and will conclude with championship games on Nov. 27.

Teams from Garapan, Gualo Rai, China Town, Navy Hill, Puerto Rico, Capitol Hill, Kagman, Tanapag, Achugao, San Roque, As Matuis, and Marpi are welcome to the association’s inaugural competition.

The tournament consists of three divisions, with Division I featuring youths from nine to 12 years of age, Division II for kids 13 to 15 years of age; and Division III for cagers 16 to 19 years of age.

“This is another opportunity for the kids to improve on their skills,” co-coordinator Joe Diaz said earlier. “Even for those that have never played basketball, this is another opportunity for them to learn the game.”

An entrance fee of $100 is also required and teams must also supply age verification documents for each player in the roster. Deadline to register is at 5pm on Nov. 16.

As with many other leagues in the Commonwealth, one key to hosting the youth league is to promote the sport in hopes of guiding youths to bettering their understanding of the game, both physically and mentally, while also promoting the importance of fair play, sportsmanship, building relationships, and physical fitness.

For more information or to pick up a registration form, contact Diaz at 322-7061, Cruz at 234-5562 or email at homanhoben@hotmail.com, Jovie Omar at 664-2502 or email at jvomar@yahoo.com, or Ester Sablan at 287-5783, 287-6866, or email at estersablan@yahoo.com.

Teams who already have a registration form must complete the form and fax to Cruz at 234-5560.