Sports Briefs

9-ball and 8-ball tournaments at Top Pool Bar

Top Pool Bar is inviting billiards players of all shapes and sizes to its 9-ball tournament every Saturday and 8-ball tournament every Friday.

Saturday’s games start at 8pm with the two hours prior to the competition reserved for practice (two tables). Entry fee is $10 with the winner taking hope $100, runner-up $50, and third place free entry in the following week’s contest.

Top Pool Bar’s 8-ball tournament every Friday also begins at 8pm. The hour before the games are reserved for practice (two tables).

There is no entry fee and the winner walks away with $50, second place an hour-long free practice, and third place gets 30 minutes of free practice.

The 9-ball competition uses a single elimination format, while the 8-ball tourney is a double-elimination affair.

For more information about the 9-ball and 8-ball competitions at Top Pool Bar, call Zheng Jian Qing at 233-6999 or 287-7676.

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HANMI Charity Golf Classic on April 1

The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands will host its 5th Annual Charity Classic Golf Tournament on April 1 at Laolao Bay Golf Resort.

The proceeds from this years’ tournament will benefit The Mariana Islands Nature Alliance, the Mariana Tourism Education Council, and the HANMI scholarship fund. The event will be the first major golf tournament of the year and will have a capacity to handle up to 200 golfers for a 7:30am start. Following the game will be an evening banquet featuring dishes prepared by each of the HANMI member hotels.

The fee for this year’s tournament will be $125 for early registration by March 24 and $150 thereafter. Entry forms and sponsorship opportunities may be obtained by contacting Andy Tidwell at 234-1305 or Lynn Knight at 233-3773.

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Mobil co-ed cage league eyes April 4 start

The 6th Annual Mobil Oil Marianas Co-ed Invitational Basketball League will roll-off beginning April 4 at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Like in previous years, the competition among eight Mobil customers and host Mobil Oil Marianas would be played Tuesdays and Thursdays with the first game tipping off beginning at 6:30pm and the second game starting at 8pm, or 10 minutes after the conclusion of the first match.

The Mobil co-ed basketball league was formed in 2001 to give the giant oil company a venue to fellowship with its client companies. Since its inaugural season, the cagefest has grown in popularity and has attracted a following made up mostly of employees and staff of teams participating in league.

It has even survived the demise of league pioneer and 2003 champion Pacific Development Inc. and that year’s second runner-up Pacific Island Aviation.

Last year, Dai-Ichi Hotel Saipan Beach (Now Fiesta Resort and Spa) won the championship against host Mobil, 130-114. Empty-handed in its first three years in the league (it didn’t suit up in the league’s inaugural season), Dai-Ichi benefited with its merging with sister team Tan Holding Corp. and fielded a powerful lineup led by 2005 MVP Elmer Esdrelon and a Japanese import in the person of cage belle Noe Okahira.

The Mobil crown was previously worn by Tan Holdings (2001), Microl (2002), PDI (2003), and Aqua Resort Club (2004).

For more information on the 2006 Mobil Oil Marianas Invitational Co-ed Basketball League, contact league chairman Abner Venus at 888-3228.