FIBA: Ada Gym not up to standards

ONE of the facilities to be used for the 2009 Oceania Basketball Tournament did not make the grade and the CNMI as host will have until the end of this month to assure FIBA Oceania that a program is in place to address the problem.

FIBA Oceania secretary general Steve Smith in an e-mail to Saipan Tribune said the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium is below international standards and the expectations of FIBA Oceania as far as hosting the Oceania caging is concerned.

“The Ada Gym is in need of a comprehensive refurbishment and upgrading,” said Smith, who was on Saipan last October to inspect the Ada Gym and the Marianas High School Gymnasium after the CNMI through the Basketball Association of Northern Marianas Islands was awarded the hosting rights for the Oceania caging mid this year.

The MHS Gym made the grade and needs only minor repairs.

“We would be happy to play some of the games at the MHS Gym, but we have too many teams and too many games to conduct for the entire competition, therefore we need to use the Ada Gym,” Smith said.

The Oceania caging will have competitions in both the men’s and women’s divisions and aside from the CNMI, eight other FIBA Oceania members are sending teams to the Commonwealth. The list includes Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Guam, Palau, Papua New Guinea, and American Samoa.

The Oceania caging is scheduled for June and will have four games each playing day starting after lunch and practice sessions in the morning.

Smith had already sent BANMI a copy of the facilities evaluation for both gyms and is hoping to hear a word from the local basketball association at the end of the year.

Smith added they are willing to help BANMI with some of the equipment needed for the tournament, but major repairs should be handled by the local organizing committee through the help of the government.

“FIBA Oceania will be assisting BANMI with the supply of some of the specific basketball equipment for the Ada Gym. But fundamental building works are needed to be undertaken by the local organizing committee,” Smith said.

“We re very keen that this can be done, as the Ada Gym is home of basketball not only for our event, but for the entire CNMI. When this is done, the public will have a more enjoyable playing venue,” the FIBA Oceania secretary general added.

BANMI president Elias Rangamar acknowledged receiving FIBA Oceania’s reports and the deadline for CNMI’s commitment to host the Oceania caging.

“I have met with our director (Division of Sports and Recreation’s Joe Lizama) and DCCA secretary Cecilia Celes regarding the issues of the Ada Gym. We are organizing a working group to tackle the issues and we are waiting the assessment of the facility from a private firm before we visit the Legislature and the Governor’s Office to ask for support,” said Rangamar, who is willing to step down as coach of the Women’s Nationals to be at the forefront of the working group and ensure that the Oceania caging on Saipan will go ahead as scheduled.

Rangamar is also hoping they could get assistance from the private sector despite the financial problems the Commonwealth and the rest of the world are facing right now.

“We have not received a favorable response from the private sector, but we will keep trying. Just like in the 2006 Micronesian Games, we had problems, but we pulled it through. So I believe we can do the same if we help each other,” the BANMI head said.

Rangamar said if immediate major repairs at the Ada Gym cannot be done due to funding problems, BANMI is looking at the Northern Marianas College Gymnasium as an alternate venue.

“If the Ada Gym is not ready, we have inquired from the administrator of the NMC Gym about the possibility of holding games there,” Rangamar said.

BANMI’s plan to address the problems with the facilities must meet FIBA Oceania’s approval or CNMI might lose its hosting rights.

“If we are not confident that the issues at the Ada Gym are properly addressed by the end of the year, we will seek an alternative host,” Smith said.

Palau and Samoa also submitted bids to host the Oceania caging next year.