NMI draws in 3×3 FIBA Asia Cup set

The qualifying draws are in for the 3×3 FIBA Asia Cup from March 27-31 in Singapore, as the NMIBF Marianas Arsenal 3×3 Basketball Series sets to wrap up with its final championship games.

The men’s and women’s teams representing NMI in the Cup will be set after the championship game this Feb. 24.

The NMI men’s team is in Draw B with No. 9 Republic of Korea, No. 14 Indonesia, and No. 18 Sri Lanka, while the NMI women’s team is in Draw C with No. 12 India, No. 18 Hong Kong, and No. 13 Indonesia. Games will be played in the Singapore Sports Hub.

Both NMI teams will no doubt be the underdog on this big of a stage, having faced recently only other Micronesian teams in a standard 5v5 matchup. The last 3×3 tourney NMI competed in was the 2017 Vanuatu Pacific Mini Games made up of Jack Lizama, Preston Basa, Dan Barcinas, and Douglas Schmidt.

Coordinator of the NMIBF Marianas Arsenal 3×3 Basketball Series, Joe Villacrusis, was asked what his thoughts were on the draws the NMI teams are in, and he said it’s going to be interesting.

“I haven’t watched any of the other countries play, but I know it’s going to be a good experience for our guys to participate in this. Hopefully, they don’t get overwhelmed with the different atmosphere,” he said.

Lia Rangamar, also a coordinator for the NMIBF Marianas Arsenal 3×3 Basketball Series, said that when the draw was completed, they saw that all the countries that NMI is going up against are “huge countries with a lot of resources. They have years and years of playing together and so it’s going to be a big undertaking to go up against them.”

Villacrusis added that what’s going to hold the NMI teams is breaking into a new experience and that they might be overwhelmed by the different atmosphere. “But otherwise, just like anything else, when you keep doing it, keep getting exposed to that environment, you get used to it, so we hope to continue that trend.”

Rangamar then said that the Asia Cup is bigger than the Pacific Games for them. “Going there is really to experience how we fare and when they’re exposed to things that are bigger than what we have here, they’re going to come back and see how we can run our programs here better,” she said.

“Whether it’s the Asia Cup, Micro Games in the Marshall Islands, or the Mini Games in Palau, it’s always good to see where you are. When you’re focused on just playing the same people, you’ll never know how much more you can do. That’s a big thing for us—seeing where we fare when we play against others,” said Rangamar.

As for how the NMI teams’ performance has been since the start of the 3×3 series last November, Villacrusis said, “there has been an improvement. Team Nesian Built has been winning, but they were beaten by a U16 team last month. It just shows 3×3 is unpredictable.”

In the region, there’s a big push for the 3×3 format because it’s more accessible, easier to run, and has a faster rate of play.

Besides the Asian Cup, the NMIBF is setting up a 3×3 team to compete in the upcoming Micronesian Games in Marshall Islands this June, and hopefully in the 2025 Palau Pacific Mini Games.