White to officiate in Pacific Games

The CNMI’s Gabriel White is included in the pool of FIBA referees who will officiate the basketball matches in the 2011 Pacific Games in New Caledonia later this month.

The Pacific Games will start on Aug. 27 and White will leave for New Caledonia on Aug. 25, four days before the basketball competition in the quadrennial event kicks off.

The Commonwealth does not have entries in the men’s and women’s divisions of the basketball tournament. Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, Guam, New Caledonia, the Federated States of Micronesia are competing in the men’s division, while the women’s category has teams from Guam, Samoa, New Caledonia, American Samoa, and Vanuatu.

The basketball competition will start at 1pm on Aug. 29 and will run until Sept. 8. Games will be played in two venues—the Salle Anewy in Noumea and the Salle Sérandour in Mont-Dore.

Before the opening games, White and the more than 10 referees from FIBA Oceania will attend a referee clinic FIBA Sports Director Lubo Kotleba will be conducting from 8:30am to 11:30am. Kotleba will hold the referee clinic for two days or until Aug. 30 and there will be referee evaluation on games for two days.

Then on Aug. 31, FIBA Oceania will have its mid-term Congress. The assembly will be attended by FIBA Oceania officials, including president Bob Elphinston of Australia, board members John Gallaher and Barbara Wheadon of New Zealand, Palau’s Bill Keldermans and John Maddocks of Australia, secretary general Steve Smith, zone development manager Regan Kama, and zone special projects and administration manager Judy Smith. Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association president and Basketball Association of Northern Mariana Islands secretary general Michael White will be representing the CNMI at the assembly.

White is currently in Shenzhen, China for the 2011 Summer Universiade, which will kick off tomorrow and run until Aug. 23. He will be back on Aug. 25 and then will leave Saipan for New Caledonia on Aug. 27, joining the CNMI Golf Team.

Besides the golf squad, the Commonwealth will also be sending teams in beach volleyball team (men’s and women’s) and athletics competitions, and possibly baseball.

Jeff Taylor, Adam Hardwicke, Jess Wabol, and Tony Satur comprised the CNMI Golf Team, while sprinter Rachel Abrams, middle distance runner Douglas Dillay, and long jumper Trevor Ogumoro are representing the Commonwealth in athletics events. Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association has yet to name the members of the men’s and women’s teams, but registered a couple of players in the Pacific Games athletes list.