Six More Medals, Clutch Wins and Dramatic Plays

Medals, drama, and thrilling action dominated Day 3 of the 2025 Palau Pacific Mini Games as Team Marianas fired their way through another successful showing in the venues across Palau.

After all the emotion, drama, and excitement of the day, Team Marianas added six more medals for a total of 18 medals so far.

The swim team delivered four more medals—a gold from flag bearer Isaiah Aleksenko in the 50m butterfly, a silver medal from Maria Batallones in the 100m breaststroke, a silver from Kean Pajarillaga in the 200m backstroke, and a bronze swept in by the 800m freestyle relay team that includes Aleksenko, Pajarillaga, Justin Ma, and Moshe Sikkel.

Aleksenko said of his swim this time, “It was definitely close. 50s are always a close race so it's definitely fun to compete against people in the 50. I do join 50s but I don't personally like them. But it is what it is—it's definitely fun to swim.” With his multiple medals so far, “I'm definitely very happy because it's a challenge going against islands like this and it's just amazing getting these many medals.”

Batallones for her part said, “I was expecting it because I was preparing myself a lot and my coach talked me through it and I just kept repeating what he said to me in my head throughout the race. He kept telling me about my stroke count to keep it high and underwater to keep it smooth. I just let my body do the work during the race.

The two other medals were bagged by weightlifter Leowell Cristobal in the 65-kg weight class for a total of 18 medals so far for Team Marianas.

The airman said of his performance, “Grateful for the bronze and moving forward, definitely looking to get back stronger for sure.” As for the new weight category, which is lighter than his original 67-kg, he said, “it's a new change and having to cut weight—I'm just getting used to it.” He added, “I feel like I definitely did the best I could and lessons learned moving forward.” Moving forward, he said he'll be sticking to the weight category and improving his diet leading up to competitions.

The NMI National Baseball Team started the day with a bang as they won over rival Guam in dramatic, walk off fashion, 7-6.

It was a bottom of the last inning, two-out rally for the defending champions NMI team as Lamarc Iguel started their rally with a single. Joe Lifoifoi followed with another hit to move Iguel into scoring position. Then, Spencer Dickinson stepped up and smashed a bases clearing double to deep center on the first pitch, driving in both runners to tie the game at 6-6.

J.R. Suel then came in as a pinch runner for Dickinson, and Jerald Cabrera swung for the fences with a clutch line drive to center, bringing Suel home for the walk-off win.

NMI now faces a tough schedule with back-to-back games today—first against Fiji at 10am, followed by a 5pm match against the Federated States of Micronesia. The team will wrap up the elimination round Saturday with a make-up game versus host Palau at 1:30pm.

Catcher Jerald Cabrera said of his walk off hit, “The whole time I was thinking I need to put the ball on the barrel. It was scary. I was thinking the bat might've flown off because it was so wet but I just choked up, squeezed it tight and swung for the fences.”

As for their manager, he said of the past two days of rained out games, “For the last two days, we've had three canceled games. The boys were anxious, we had to control our nerves. We knew going up against team Guam was going to be tough. They're going to be a force to reckon with coming down the line. They are a young squad but they brought it today.

The men's and women's 3x3 basketball teams wowed the crowd at the Palau Spiders Gym after they both won two of their matches via clutch performances on Day 3. They made it to the final game of their second day of games, but both teams lost.

However, they both earned points and managed to rank up in their conference with NMI women tied in second place with Samoa at 140 points and NMI men in third place also with 140 points.

Chioni Dela Cruz of the men's team said after their performance, “It was crazy. Going into both games, we're obviously the smaller team so we had to play with a lot of heart and we were able to get it done.”

Kaia Travilla from the men's team, for her part said, “Today has been a very good day for CNMI. We won the first two games both men and women. With the last game, we played with heart and I feel like we could get it back. It's only the second day and we're ready to take on the rest of the tournament.”

Beach volleyball's Logan Mister and Andrew Johnson got the ball rolling early as they snagged their first win in the Games against Tuvalu, 21-12, 21-12. Their next game is today against Australia—who they look to redeem themselves from the 2023 Pacific Games.

On the last day of wrestling matches, the team did not make the podium in the beach wrestling division. However, they put up a good fight and collected five medals in total.

In the Freestyle category, Vincent "Beng" Palacios delivered a silver in the U17 division at 60kg, while Seth Sablan bagged a bronze in the U17 division at 71kg. In the Greco-Roman category, Sablan clinched the gold in the U17 division at 65kg; Miles Borja won the silver in the U20 Division at 87kg; and Palacios settled for bronze in the U20 division at 60kg.

Team manager Jason Tarkong said after their matches, Thank you, team, coaches, families, and supporters. I want to thank the NMWF board for their endless commitment and support. Three months ago, we pulled the trigger to commit to the games with a new and unseasoned athletes who have never been tested in any tournament or competition. Their first match is on the international stage. The results are on record. We express our deepest gratitude and thankfulness for the incredible achievement of our wrestling team in winning medals! This is a moment of immense pride for all of us.”

He added, “This victory is a true reflection of the teamwork, sacrifice, and dedication shown by our wrestlers. But it's also a powerful reminder of the vital role our families play – your endless encouragement and logistical support are the backbone of our team. And to our wider community of supporters, your cheers from the sidelines and belief in our athletes made them feel invincible. Thank you for being such an integral part of this success.”

The va'a team made the finals in four events. In the V6 1,500m open women, they came in fifth at 10:30.88 over Guam. As for the V6 1,500m open men, they came in fifth as well also over Guam with a time of 8:44.66.

In the V1 distance 16km stretch, Carter Calma placed fifth out of seven paddlers with a time of 1:47.04.

The women's indoor volleyball team lost their third game in a row, this time against Fiji, 25-18, 20-25, 15-25. The men did not play yesterday.

The NMI National Fastpitch Softball Team lost a tough game against the Federated States of Micronesia. They were up, 8-5, then FSM put their bat to the ball and staged a rally that ended with a tie game, 8-8. FSM then delivered the final blow to win, 9-8.