Triumphant return for Saipan All-Stars

The three Saipan All-Star teams returned to home soil yesterday morning and drew applause as they exited the arrival area of the Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport.

With three trophies in hand, players, coaches, and officials from the 12-and-under, 13-15, and 18-and-under teams made their way out to welcoming arms of parents and supporters after successful stints at the Shell Guam 2005 Drug-Free Thanksgiving Youth Basketball Invitational.

The Saipan delegation arrived in two groups, with the first batch landing on home turf at 7:30am and the second group arriving at 11am.

The 12-and-under and 13-15 age group teams both won championships, while the 18-and-under crew kept their heads up after going undefeated in the elimination round and advancing past the semifinals before settling for first runner-up.

“They worked really hard and we’re so proud of them,” several supporters said.

Jun Teregeyo, who assisted Ambrose Ogumoro in coaching the 18-and-under team, reiterated what Northern Youth Basketball Association vice president George Cruz had said earlier, explaining that the Saipan delegation made a statement with their performance.

“Our young boys in the 12-and-under are advance when you compare them to the teams we played on Guam,” he said, citing that the team even held a 54-0 lead at the end of three periods in their semifinal bout.

“The 13-15 boys were also very good, and we have a very strong team in the 18-and-under. The boys did very good,” he said.

Members of the 12-and-under all-stars include Derek Abraham, Glen Gapor, Dave Jones, Mart Sablan, Dino Palacios, Jason Palacios, Rainier Deleon Guerrero, Frankie Santos, Jack Castro, and Rico Peters. Coaches were Jonathan Salas and Robert Naraja.

The 13-15 all stars include Don Teregeyo, Jericho Cruz, Mariano Lisua, Zack Tudela, Nate Mateo, Edwin Camacho, Juan Ogarto, Ray Babauta, Manuel Matagolai, Dan Mateo, Steve Tellei, and Trevor Ogumoro, while Jose Tumaquip and Patrinus Mario served as coaches.

The 18-and-under cast included Kevin Cequena, Dan Barcinas, Fred Igisomar, Kovin Ogumoro, Pete Iguel, Joemar Tumaquip, Vince Teregeyo, James Sablan, Zack Diaz, Jose Ulloa, Jayvan Tarkong, and Jesus Norita.

The delegation was also accompanied by Cruz and NYBA president Joe Diaz, who at the airport said that he was proud of the effort and performance of all three teams.

Cruz earlier stated that one big key to their successful performance was team chemistry as all three teams gelled in time to showcase what they’re made of.

“It was just excellent,” he said. “It was kind of rough in the beginning but we had a lot of practices…we practiced on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It was only [yesterday] that we didn’t practice because it was championship day and we wanted them to be more relaxed and ready, but chemistry wise, everyone has gelled together. We don’t consider ourselves as a player from G-Rollers, or Capitol Hill, or the Sparks…we just see ourselves as a team from Saipan.”