Name the team

By Leilam Leverette

For the Saipan Tribune

When I say Ol’, you say Aces! Ol’ Aces!…Ol’ Aces? You know the champions of last season’s Rotary League? What? How soon do we forget the sweet victory this team took? Let’s refresh your memory.

Between the months of July and September of every year, the Rotary League Basketball Season takes place compliments of the Rotary Club. In order to play in the Rotary League one must be 15 to 18 years of age, and maintain a ‘C’ average in school. Also, it is open to both male and female. It’s pretty unusual for a female to join, but Beverly Igitol didn’t seem to mind one bit while playing for the Tanapag Warriors last year.

So who rose to the top last season? Unless you’re suffering from amnesia or don’t know basketball you would have answered Ol’Aces.

The Rotary League season of 2001 was a season to remember because Ol’Aces hammered home the fact that they were the champions after emerging undeferated the whole season. Ton Sablan described his team as “Unstoppable, baby!”

Ol’Aces showed grace and class when handling their opponents as well as themselves. As a result, they won all three awards possible! the pennant crown, championship, and sportsmanship award. Winning the sportsmanship award and championship is a rarity in itself. Ol’Aces coach Rufino Aguon expressed his feelings about the team when he said, “I’m very proud of them, they understood teamwork and their roles.” He hoped it would set a good example for other aspiring soon-to-be achievers.

He continued that it’s proof that you can still win if you play fair, play with your heart, and have fun. It’s a great recipe for success. It goes to show that anything is possible, but the question is how did they make it possible? Lets take a closer look.

This “extreme” team consists of young men from NMC, Marianas High School, Kagman High School and Mt. Carmel. This is another rarity because usually you would see a “vs.” sign in between MHS and MCS, but that wasn’t the issue here. It’s all about teamwork.

The qualities of a winning team are playing fair with good sportsmanship, playing with passion and understanding your role, whether it was on the bench or court they are equally important. What are the qualities of Team X? All of the above and some!

When asked what they learned during the season, team captains T.J. Aldan and Ambrose Ogumoro agreed that it was teamwork and determination. Is it no wonder they became captains? Coach Aguon, observed that, besides the fact that they showed leadership qualities, when they talked everyone listened. Center Kelvin Fitial stresses that discipline was another big lesson taught by their coach. Guard Dirk Rungunbee pointed out that it was all about heart.

To win, you’ve got to have skills. The two who demonstrated the most skills were Chris Idip and Derrick Tudela. They took home the MVP award. To answer the question you’re probably asking: “Why bring up the past?” Well, 2001 Ol’Aces Rotary is only the first chapter.

Though the Rotary League season has passed you might have seen these players (most of them still together) running the courts under other names, PROA and Saipan Red Team, with the same coach, Rufino Aguon. Not only do they have the same coach and basically the same team (going through different teams, of course, you can expect some faces to change) but also the same color representing their team — red.

It seems that this winning combination won’t stop anytime soon and who want them to? Snagging this year’s Marianas Invitational Basketball Tournament championship is another great victory for a team who is a great role model for children, teens, and adults alike. Hmm…Ol’Aces, PROA, or Saipan Red Team? Let’s just sum them all up into one name — “eXtreme Team.” What’s next? The CNMI National Team? Consider this said and done. They are going on to the Micronesian Games this summer. But let’s not get into that. That’s a whole different chapter.

To sum it all up, the whole team, with its old and new faces, proved that they are all valuable because they became not only a team, but friends. Not only friends, but brothers. And not only brothers, but champions. This is the Year of Red.