Photo: Hilary Hosia
HILARY HOSIA
The Ralik Ratak 2022 National Basketball Championship Tournament kicked off last Friday with the usual theme of previous tournaments: Lae rules.
Both Lae men’s and women’s teams proved to be the powerhouses in the competition after defeating their opponents by large gaps during the opening games at the Majuro Atoll Local government’s Assumption multi-purpose court.
The Majuro women’s team started off strong against Lae in the first quarter while trailing only two points behind. When the second quarter began, Lae picked up pace to take an eight-point lead, 19-11, at the half. Then in the second half, Lae turned it up further to race away to victory, 59-30.
NOTE: Majuro and Lae are the only women’s teams to compete this year, no other teams registered.
In the men’s division, Lae bombarded Ujae by scoring 44 points in the first half while Ujae managed only 25 points. Ujae turned around and made an amazing comeback in the third quarter by scoring 21 points while holding Lae to 12. The scoreboard showed 56-46 with the last 10 minutes on the clock. Then Lae claimed victory after outscoring Ujae to win, 71-56.
The weekend games introduced the first team to score above 100 — team Majuro after defeating Kili 106-68. Team Namdrik easily knocked off Jaluit while maintaining a 20-point gap throughout the game and finished off with 88-39. Arno then toppled Mejit for a 60-52 win.
Enter team Ebon. Ebon proved to be a force to reckon with after defeating a strong Rongelap team Monday night. Rongelap team mainly consists of players who grew up in Uliga with home court advantage. Ebon knocked them off Rongelap easily, 65-48.
Monday night’s main event Lae against Majuro men attracted a large and curious crowd. People were keen to see whether Majuro will have a chance at the championship this year and the Monday game left them with more curiosity after Lae won by merely four points, a rarity for a strong Lae team. End score: 54-50.
Last year, Kwajalein sent men and women’s teams to participate in the tournament. The Kwajalein women’s team defeated Lae by a large margin in their debut game. Lae ultimately reclaimed its championship status by defeating Kwajalein and Majuro.
Kwajalein’s men team on the other hand, ended Lae’s winning streak and returned home with the championship trophy. Both teams were not able to participate this year due to complications with the main contractor on the US Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll base regarding leave for the many players who work at Kwajalein.