Ol’Aces hosts 1st 4×4 Hoops Classic

Ol’Aces, under coach Elias Rangamar, hosted its 1st 4×4 Hoops Classic last Thursday, Sept. 26, to Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Agape Gymnasium.

The tournament that featured non-stop basketball action had 20 teams scattered over four male divisions—14U, 17U, Masters, and Open.

Champions of the 14U were Prospects after they beat Cold Blooded Prodigy by two points, 10-8. There were no last names provided by the organizers. Prospects included Leon D. David A., Jacob S., Logan D., Liam W., and Jairus P.

In the 17U division, Prime Time won, also 10-8, over Sagman. Prime Time was made up of Lance, J.D. Jezpher, Kian, Eloy, and Mykee.

In the masters division, Slow Motion overpowered 2 Old 2 Quit, 21-11. Slow Motion’s roster was Dave A., Shine T., James B., Riv S., Hank S., and Manny D.

And in the Open division, Team U.S.A. won in a buzzer beater, 15-14, over K-2 Ballers. Team U.S.A. had Airson, Matthew, Freddy, Harry, Craig, and Jon.

Rangamar said that the 4×4 format was chosen for this tournament because “It involves more participants with more actions off the ball and not as tasking as 3×3.” On the turnout, he said, “We had to turn down a lot of teams because we were limited with gym usage and time constraints.”

With the performances of the teams in a 4×4 tourney, he said, “I was impressed with a lot of individual talent and one on one skills but players still lacking game management, offensive, and defensive schemes—which somehow made some games seem very rough, but then again, with 3×3 and 4×4, that’s to be expected.”

He said that the goal of the tournament was to basically have a consistent competition to keep basketball moving on Saipan as basketball’s federation—the NMI Basketball Federation is busy and lacking personnel.

“For months, my club and other clubs including a lot of recreational players were constantly inquiring if there are any upcoming leagues or tournaments. I understand the NMIBF is bombarded with other activities i.e. school competitions but most importantly, they’re lacking personnels to conduct all the various leagues so I thought I’d help out by maybe organizing a few monthly tournaments to keep our youth and other basketball aficionados occupied.”

According to Rangamar, Ol’Aces stands for Oleai Aces which was formed back in 1975 which comprised youths from the village of Oleai back when basketball was popular in the villages. Through the years, Ol’Aces branched out to include Little League baseball, volleyball, soccer, etc.

He added that next year, Ol’Aces will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. “We’re hoping to get our officers and club reorganized to come up with events to celebrate and honor our founders and all the coaches and players that have gone through our program,” he said.

He then said there were no sponsors for this tournament, just him deciding to continue providing services to the community. “I would like to thank Mr. Michael Mercado for donating some watered bottles during the tournament. For the next tournament though, I’ll be seeking some help from the business community as I anticipate this program to expand.”

“In closing, I would like to thank Mr. Pang of Agape Christian School for availing the gym for our usage. Our partnership these past few years have been invaluable. Lastly, to all the coaches, clubs, and players, a big thank you for taking your time to participate in this Ol’Aces fundraiser. Your participation made the tournament memorable. Information and details for next month’s tournament is forthcoming.”

Rangamar, who is not only a basketball coach but also the coach and development officer for the Northern Marianas Athletics, is also running for a seat in the House of Representatives in this year’s general elections under Precinct 3.