{"id":406741,"date":"2024-03-20T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=406741"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"NMI-3x3-hoops-teams-set-for-debut-in-FIBA-Asia-Cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/NMI-3x3-hoops-teams-set-for-debut-in-FIBA-Asia-Cup\/","title":{"rendered":"NMI 3×3 hoops teams set for debut in FIBA Asia Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NMI men\u2019s and women\u2019s 3×3 teams are set and ready to go to Singapore for their debut in the 3×3 FIBA Asia Cup from March 27-31.<\/p>\n

The men\u2019s team is made up of Preston Basa, Jack Lizama, Douglas \u201cSpider\u201d Schmidt, and Coby Santos, while the women\u2019s team consists of Kaia Travilla, Jan Travilla, Mikki Kautz, and Madeleine Alegre. Accompanying the team is Lia Rangamar, coordinator of the Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation Marianas Arsenal 3×3 Basketball Series and a representative of the NMIBF.<\/p>\n

Both teams climbed to the top of the NMI Basketball Federation rankings after the few months-long NMIBF Marianas Arsenal 3×3 Basketball Series.<\/p>\n

The men\u2019s team named Team Nesian Built beat out 16 other teams throughout the whole series to bag the highest points of 190. The final game in the series was last Feb. 3. Meanwhile, the women\u2019s team named Team Glaziers clinched their division after racking up 180 points.<\/p>\n

The men\u2019s team is in Draw B with No. 9 Republic of Korea, No. 14 Indonesia, and No. 18 Sri Lanka, while the NMI women\u2019s team is in Draw C with No. 12 India, No. 18 Hong Kong, and No. 13 Indonesia.<\/p>\n

Their first qualifying draw game is on Wednesday, March 27, 11am Singapore time, or 1pm local time, against the Republic of Korea. They are then facing off against Sri Lanka that evening, 6:30pm Singapore time, or 8:30pm local time. On Thursday, March 28, they are challenging Indonesia at 12:45pm Singapore time, or 2:45pm local time.<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s team will first take on India on Wednesday, March 27, at 8:10pm Singapore time, or 10:10pm local time. Then on Thursday, March 28, at 7:20pm Singapore time, or 9:20pm local time, they are set to go against Hong Kong, China. On the same day, they are going up against Indonesia at 8:35pm Singapore time, or 10:35pm local time.<\/p>\n

On how the women\u2019s team is feeling heading to the tourney, Kaia Travilla said, \u201cIt\u2019s a great feeling to be able to play basketball and represent the NMI while doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m confident that my team and I will do really well as I know the chemistry we have together on and off the court is good. I believe that\u2019s one of the most important things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The goal? \u201cPlay our hardest and show what NMI basketball can bring. I look forward to the overall experience that my teammates and I will be able to gain for the opportunity of playing in the Asia Cup 2024 and also for the many opportunities this can open up for basketball in the NMI,\u201d said Travilla.<\/p>\n

Basa, for his part, said, \u201cWe expect massive competition that we\u2019ve never experienced before\u2026 We expect to play against giants.\u201d He thanked coach Rufino Aguon for allowing them to practice 3×3 aspects along with the regular 5v5, and Basa said they\u2019ll be focusing on 3×3 more heading into the tourney.<\/p>\n

He said their strength is speed\u2014with Schmidt and Lizama\u2014along with their shooting. \u201cWe\u2019ve been scouting the teams through YouTube. We noticed that they\u2019re big but they don\u2019t shoot as much, so we\u2019re hoping we can exchange twos for ones down there. As long as we make our shots, I think we have a chance to perform well.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for NMIBF being able to send teams to compete in the NMI\u2019s first 3×3 FIBA Asia Cup, Basa said, \u201cIt\u2019s amazing. Big shoutout to the basketball federation, James Lee, David Apatang, Marlene [Lumabi], and the rest of them. Basketball is fun and our people enjoy it, but opportunities like this really bring hope to a lot of the youth and for them to look forward to something. That\u2019s what we want\u2014those that have played basketball to continue it, and have our kids fall in love with the game as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coordinator of the NMIBF Marianas Arsenal 3×3 Basketball Series, Joe Villacrusis, said that the team is ready to go. The team will be making their way to Singapore on Tuesday, March 26.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cthis is our first time. Our disadvantage is that we don\u2019t have enough experience, and it\u2019ll be a little bit of a culture shock\u2026 but we hope that maybe after the first game, they kind of brush it off and start playing their game. They\u2019re good, they just need the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIf we continue to send teams to the Asia Cup, maybe we can start to grow and get a better feel on how to advance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last 3×3 tourney NMI competed in was the 2017 Vanuatu Pacific Mini Games made up of Lizama, Basa, Schmidt, and Dan Barcinas.<\/p>\n

In the region, there\u2019s a big push for the 3×3 format because it\u2019s more accessible, easier to run, and has a faster rate of play.<\/p>\n

Besides the Asian Cup, the NMIBF is setting up a 3×3 team to compete in the upcoming Micronesian Games in Marshall Islands this June, and hopefully in the 2025 Palau Pacific Mini Games.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From left, Team Nesian Built’s Preston Basa, Douglas Schmidt, and Jack Lizama, and Coby Santos pose for a photo after a championship game of the Marianas Arsenal 3×3 Series at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.<\/p>\n

-LEIGH GASES
<\/figcaption><\/figure>

<\/p>\n

From left, Trail Glaziers\u2019 Jan Travilla, Kaia Travilla, Mikki Kautz, and Madeleine Alegre pose for a photo after they won a championship game of the NMIBF Marianas Arsenal 3×3 Basketball Series at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.<\/p>\n

-LEIGH GASES
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NMI men\u2019s and women\u2019s 3×3 teams are set and ready to go to Singapore…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-406741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406741\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}