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Three games will kick off the action in the 2018-2019 Commonwealth Coalition of Private Schools Association Varsity Basketball League today, as players from all 12 teams are looking forward for an exciting season.<\/p>\n
Kagman High School will be hosting Saipan International School in the boys division game at 3:30pm, while over at the Koblerville Gymnasium, Saipan Southern High School will be taking on Grace Christian Academy. For another boys division match, Agape Christian School 1 will be welcoming Mount Carmel School 2 in the Torchbearers\u2019 home turf in Gualo Rai.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this tournament is going to be fun,\u201d KHS captain Dean Blake said when asked about the competition. \u201cI really can\u2019t wait to see what the other players can do on the court. It should be interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kagman and Saipan Southern are fielding one team each in the boys and girls divisions, making the league even more competitive this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel energized as we kick off the CCOPSA league and I play one last time for Mount Carmel School,\u201d said team captain Angelo Factor whose squad (MC1) won\u2019t be playing their first game until tomorrow when they take on Agape at the Koblerville Gymnasium.<\/p>\n
Factor was part of the Knights crew that won last season\u2019s title and he knew the opposing teams are all eyes on them, as they try to grab the championship trophy away from Mt. Carmel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know all schools are hungry to beat us, but we will see what they have for us,\u201d Factor said.<\/p>\n
Eagles captain, Marcky Masilungan, meanwhile, has mixed feelings about the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m kinda nervous heading into the season since volleyball had just come to an end and the intermission seems kinda rushed,\u201d Masilungan said. \u201cNonetheless, I\u2019m excited to compete with the other teams and see what they have in store for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
GCA was Mt. Carmel\u2019s finals foe last season.<\/p>\n
Louisa Han and Jasmine Phan, captains for MCS and GCA, respectively, are just as eager to begin competing as their male counterparts are.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super excited to finally be back on the court with my teammates,\u201d Han said. \u201cI think the basketball season will hype many students up, especially after the volleyball season and final exams.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am excited for this new CCOPSA season for basketball because it will be the first time in a long while for GCA to have a high school girls basketball team,\u201d Phan said. \u201cThe last time there was a girls varsity basketball] team was when I was in 8th grade, so it\u2019s been about four years since we had a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phan also took note of the significant improvements their team have shown in their training sessions and how these will help make up for their lack of experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team is fairly new to the sport of basketball, but they have shown great improvement since the beginning of our practice sessions.\u201d Phan said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been practicing different strategies and teaching the basics to make the game easier to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not to be outdone, Mt. Carmel\u2019s boys and girls teams have also geared up for the basketball season despite facing many obstacles, including the lack of a home court after it was damaged by Super Typhoon Yutu.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been preparing for three months since Typhoon Yutu struck our island, leaving massive destruction to our home court,\u201d Factor said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t stop us from practicing with this young group of talented ballers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Han added that their practices are done in unconventional ways due to the unavailability of their basketball court.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been conditioning at the beach [in preparation] for the season,\u201d Han said. \u201cThe most important factor of basketball is teamwork and endurance. Therefore, we are focusing extra hard on conditioning!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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