CNMI bows to powerhouse S. Korea in 3×3 Asia Cup debut

The CNMI yesterday made its historic debut in Asian basketball in the 3×3 FIBA Asia Cup in Singapore.

Douglas “Spyder” Schmidt, Coby Santos, Preston Basa, and Jack Lizama put up a gallant stand in Team NMI’s 21-8 loss to powerhouse South Korea.

The CNMI actually was scoreless in the first 6:30 of the 3×3 match as South Korea spotted them 11-0.

Schmidt finally put the CNMI on the scoreboard on a floating drive going to the right. He then made it 12-3 at the 5:16 mark when he scored on a 2-point shot from the beyond the arc.

The 5’10” point forward was at it again moments later as another kamikaze drive against the taller South Koreans made it, 13-4, with 4:37 left on the clock.

Santos decided to crash the scoring party when his step-back 2-pointer found the bottom of the net 19 second later to narrow the South Koreans’ lead to 15-6.

Team NMI would yield 3 straight points to the sharpshooting South Koreans before Schmidt broke their silence when he rebounded a Lizama miss and scored the basket in one motion to peg the score at 18-7 with 3:35 to go.

The CNMI’s most acrobatic play came courtesy of Santos when he drove baseline, side-stepped, and surprised his South Korean defender with a nifty reverse layup to make it 19-8. That score with 2:55 to go proved to be the team’s swan song in the game as South Korea scored the last 2 points—with the 21st point iced from the free throw line with still 1:33 left on the game clock. In 3×3, the team that scores 21 points first wins the game outright.

Schmidt top-scored for the CNMI with 6 points, while Santos was responsible for the other 2 points.

Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation vice president David John Apatang said despite the loss, the CNMI is proud how the team put their stamp against the taller and more experienced South Korean team.

“The appearance of our teams on such a huge stage proves that we maybe from a small island in the Pacific but our hearts and determination are unmatched. Both teams will be facing great competitions from all over Asia and we are extremely proud that they are representing the CNMI. I know they will fight hard and do their best to earn some wins for us. Let’s all tune in and support their efforts as it is a new experience for everyone!” he said.

Schmidt, Santos, Basa, and Lizama immediately returned to action against Sri Lanka at 8:30pm last night. Today, March 28, they will close out their elimination round assignment against Indonesia at 2:45pm.

The CNMI women’s team of Kaia Travilla, Jan Travilla, Mikki Kautz, and Madeleine Alegre, meanwhile, saw action against India at 10:10pm last night. They will then take on Hong Kong and Indonesia today on back-to-back games at 9:20pm and 10:35pm, respectively.