MMA, Korean pro teams get spotlight

The week’s spotlight was on the octagon cage at Saipan World Resort’s Royal Taga Hall, as Guam and Saipan fighters slugged it out anew during the Rites of Passage VI: Conviction.

In the end, the visitors survived the home bets with all six Guam fighters winning their respective matches.

Ryan “The Dentist” Urquizu posted the biggest win among the Guam fighters scoring a technical knockout victory over Marianas Elite’s Maitai “The Charger” Charley in the main event.

Urquizu of Fight To Win downed Charley with a solid right hook to the chin.

The five other Guam fighters who went home victorious were Hosea Ware, Ray Apiag, Peter Alvarez, Robert Basa, and Tony “The Wreck” Reyes.

Besides the Guam fighters, Saipan also hosted two visiting baseball teams from Korea last week.

First to arrive were the LG Twins, who will be conducting a month-long spring training at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield and the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.

The Twins boast of two Olympians who helped Korea win the baseball competition in last year’s Beijing Olympics. They are former Atlanta Braves pitcher Joong Keun Bong and outfielder Lee Jin Young.

Over at the Kan Pacific Ballfield, the Lotte Giants are also holding their spring training.

The Giants also have Olympians on their lineup in Korean Baseball Organization homerun king Lee Dae Ho, catcher Kang Min Ho, and pitcher Song Sung Joon.

Raphael Zapanta continued to tame the lanes at the Saipan Bowling Center, as the youth bowler won the Bing Prince of the Lanes title for January.

Zapanta won nine of the 12 monthly titles last season and it seemed he is not done yet after claiming the first tournament of Saipan Bowling Association for 2009.

Other January titlists were Percy Omechalang and Yho Villavicencio, who notched the Budweiser King and Queen of the Lanes crowns.

The new season continued to bring good signs for CNMI junior tennis player Ji Hoon Heo, who qualified to the main draw of a tournament in New Zealand.

Heo defeated Chester Espie in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1, to advance to the main draw of the 2009 Canterbury Championships in Wilding Park, Canterbury.

Heo will stay in New Zealand for two more weeks to play in two more tournaments.

More good news surfaced last week with CNMI likely to keep the hosting rights for the Oceania Basketball Tournament after FIBA Oceania received an assurance that the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium will be repaired in time in for the June event.

The Ada Gym and the Marianas High School Gymnasium will be hosting games and practice sessions for the Oceania caging, but only the latter made the grade when FIBA Oceania inspected the facilities in October last year.

“FIBA Oceania has held extensive discussion with BANMI president Elias Rangamar and received assurances that the necessary support has been received from government departments to effect the repairs to the gym, as requested by FIBA Oceania,” FIBA Oceania secretary general Steve Smith said in an email to [I]Saipan Tribune[/I].

While Saipan waits for seven other teams that will be participating in the Oceania caging, various local basketball squads are busy in their respective leagues.

In the MISO caging, Kagman High School swept Southern in the boys and girls varsity divisions, while Saipan Community School scored its first win at home after beating Seventh Day Adventist in the girls game in the middle school division of the 2009 Coalition of Private Schools Athletic Association Basketball League.

In the 2009 Navy Hill Friendship Basketball League, Dollar Days won the battle of unbeaten teams topping Docomo, 120-94, while action in the 2009 BANMI-Budweiser Basketball League resumed with the Runnin’ Rebels defeating the Diamond Auto Fixers, 90-60.