15U boys hoops tourney underway at Kobler Gym

The 2025 NMIBF 15U Basketball League has been underway at the Koblerville Gymnasium since its opening day of games last Saturday.

There are eight teams that include Peacemakers, Jr. Ol’Aces, Madflex 1, Madflex 2, Prospects 1, Prospects 2, G Rollers 1, and YG G Rollers 2. There are seven rounds of regular season play every Saturday at 2pm, 3:30pm, and 5pm, and every Tuesday at 5:30pm and 6:45pm.

On the first day of games last Saturday, the Jr. Ol’Aces made a few clutch conversions to pull past Prospects 1, 39-36. Before that, Prospects 2 blew out YG G Rollers, 54-23. On the second day of games on Tuesday, Jr. Ol’Aces wrapped up the evening with a win over Prospects 2, 69-46. Meanwhile, to kick off Day 2, Madflex 2 beat Peacemakers, 44-28.

The playoff rounds are slated for March 29, the semis are set for March 31, and the championships are on April 4.

Sylvina Simram, board member of the Northern Marianas Basketball Federation and league commissioner of the tournament was interviewed during half time of the second day’s last game.

On why they chose the age group for the tournament, she said, “The federation wants to focus more on grassroots. Fifteen and under is usually the age group that we mostly focus on developing skills, knowledge about any FIBA basketball, and basketball in general. We wanted to expand the game of basketball—not only for the youth, but for women as well. So I’d say this youth [tournament] allows us to open up to the community, hopefully find players to showcase their skills, and we can decide there whether or not they have potential to grow.”

She added that the tournament so far is “looking great. We have a lot of new players—new faces. I’ve hosted many leagues under the federation and they’re mostly focused on men. So as mentioned, this 15 and under [tournament] is a great way to start the grassroots in hopes that by the end of the season, kids are able to go home, grow their knowledge, and hopefully, pass it on to the community.”