Patience running thin on leaking gym

While the two Garapan teams battled for bragging rights on their village on the north side of the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium Wednesday, the 15-year-old facility continued to wage its own war against the elements.

“We already tried calling the contractors’ attention and they said by tomorrow [Thursday] they would fix the ceiling. Hopefully it doesn’t rain when they start working on it,” said Saipan Rotary Club Summer Youth Basketball League coordinator Mario Sablan.

Sablan, who works for the Division of Sports and Recreation, which is the office in charge of the venue, said this was probably the first time in the history of the 18-and-under basketball league that they were forced to use the shorter court for an official game.

He said officials only allowed Garapan Rollers II and sister team G-Rollers III to play in such conditions because coaches of both teams were amenable with the setup.

Sablan said Garapan head coach Joe Diaz, who coaches G-Rollers III, and his assistant Jose Tumaquip, who coaches G-Rollers II, told him the shorter 60-foot court with nine-foot goals was okay, because both teams would just treat the game like it was a “scrimmage.”

The standard basketball court is about 80 feet long and the height of the goals is 10 feet.

Sablan’s boss, DSR director Tony Rogolifoi, said he has already elevated the problem about the leaking roof at the gym and the subsequent cancellation of Rotary games to Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Juan L. Babauta.

“It’s really frustrating for me because I feel sorry for the kids. We just started the Rotary league and we have only four or five games to show for it. We had to stop the games because of the leaks on the roof,” he said during an interview Thursday.

Rogolifoi’s frustration was also echoed by Sablan.

“It’s hard because all the players want to play and they cannot play with this kind of weather. So we just have to fix it first. It’s not funny for the kids who want to play. Three games have already been cancelled because of the condition of the gym,” he said.

Tumaquip, meanwhile, was more animated about the delays wrought on the Rotary schedule and its affect on his team and the rest of the league.

“This is not good, we are supposed to be playing on the longer court, and that’s 80 feet and not play on just 60 feet,” said Tumaquip. “Me and coach Joe Diaz only agreed to play because we are on the same program. But you can’t expect the Sixers or the other teams to agree on this setup.”

Sablan said if worse comes to worse he may have to ask the assistance of the Marianas High School and the Northern Marianas College to have some of the Rotary games played in their gymnasiums.

“It really depends on the availability of the venues and whether the management of both facilities agree on holding the Rotary there, at least temporarily,” he said.

Rogolfoi, meanwhile, lashed out on Railings Pacific for the shabby work they have done on the gym’s roof.

“I told them [Railings] before during the dry season that they should focus on the leak first and then work on the others—make that a priority. The other repairs should only have been secondary. The thing they were supposed to do was patch up all the leaks, but it only got worse and you can tell when you’re there, there are a lot of puddles of water in the gym,” he said.

For the meantime, teams participating just have to wait it for Rotary basketball officials to sort things out. Last Thursday, the league was again forced to cancel games as the wet floor made it hazardous for players to use the facility.

Matches that were postponed were the first game between the Sixers II and Saints and the second game pitting Ol’Aces against Hoops.