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25-and-under cage league meeting set
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Posted on Jan 18 2005
In a last-ditch effort to save the 2004-2005 season, Abner Venus is calling an emergency meeting for all coaches and managers of the 25-and-under Basketball League tomorrow, Jan. 20, at the conference room of the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.
The tete-a-tete is set at 5:30pm and it would discus the format of the league and other pertinent topics, according to Venus, who along with Elias Rangamar, is coordinator of the competition.
The 25-and-under Basketball League has until Jan. 28 to start or abandon the season altogether. The decision to mothball the league if it doesn’t start on the deadline was decided during the last regular board meeting of the Basketball Association of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Venus said four teams are already assured of seeing action in the league—Hoopaholics, Ghasias Brothers, Toyota Ol’Aces, and Cyclones. He said he is ready to kick off the league even with just the four teams playing.
Teams on the outside looking in are Garapan Rollers, Saipan Sixers, Tanapag Warriors, Sunrisers, 69ers, and a team from the United Filipino Organization.
Venus said the only thing holding the six other teams back is the lack of money to pay for the entry fee. He said team coaches and managers have approached him the past weeks citing the difficulty of raising funds to pay for the entry fee.
For more information on the 25-and-under league, call BANMI president Mike Muna at 664-3582, or league coordinators Venus at 287-5911 and Rangamar at 664-2503.
Players eligible to see action in the league are those whose 26th birthday does not predate the opening of the season.
In 2003, Proa hoisted the championship of the 25-and-under tournament after it waylaid Ghasias Brothers, 106-91, in the title tiff.
Verizon also won that season’s pennant championship and was coached by then CNMI national basketball team coach Rufino Aguon. Its players included Jester Garcia, Dave Palacios, Boaz Etpison, Ambrose Ogumoro, Jeremy Sablan, Ponce Rasa, J.C. Kim, Oscar Ada, and Mel Manibusan.
