The Sports Leigh-Out Apr. 4-10, 2026

Hafa Adai and Tirow sports fans, this is Leigh Gases with this week’s Sports Leigh-Out brought to you by Joeten Motors!

Let’s take a closer look at what our athletes have been up to in off-island competitions and on their home turf—whether it’s on the pitch, mat, courts, fields, track, pools, or the beautiful ocean.

Rota’s BL League, Playoff Push: Un Guinaya takes first game, What Nai remains undefeated

Rota’s 18 and up, co-ed softball league slowly makes its way to playoffs after holding their long awaited make up game this past Monday, April 6th, 2026 at Tun Kindo’ Baseball Field in Sinapalo. Two games were held with Un Guinaya taking the first game’s win against Takus at 20 to 5. Meanwhile, What Nai maintains their undefeated title for the season so far, securing their win against Sakudi, at 10 to 7.

According to 20th Rota Municipal Council Chairman Jonovan Lizama, who manned the press box during Monday’s make-up game, playoffs and championship games are scheduled for next week for the six teams this season.

Council Chairman Lizama adds that this season was sponsored by Ambros and Bud Light. “I just want to thank everybody from the community of Rota. I want to thank also our sponsors, Bud Light Ambros, and also DCCA Sports Division, directed by Director Freddy Manglona and also I want to thank Honorable Mayor Aubry for sponsoring our lights. Thank you all in the community, thank you all for coming out and supporting our teams in this Bud Light Season, as we near the ending of our Bud Light Season, as next week we will be playing our playoffs and championship games… Also we’d like to thank DFEMS for coming out also, keeping our community safe, directed by Deputy Mannex Atalig.”

There are six teams this season, What Nai, Un Guinaya, Sakudi, Hagu Lamun, Takus, and Galuti. Stay tuned for continued coverage of Rota’s Bud Light, 18 and up, co-ed Softball League.

Grind Guam hosts 3rd annual Saipan hoops camp

After the third year, Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium feels different—and that’s kind of the point.

Coach Morgan Aiken Jr. brought his Guam-based Grind Basketball Camp to Saipan’s girls and boys aged 13 and up for the third year in a row from Apr. 8-9—and it has grown into more than just drills and scrimmages. Where there was once just love for the game, there’s now more intensity and accountability.

“I remember in year one, everybody loved the game, but the intensity was a lot lower compared to the second year. Now, going into the third year, I think my biggest focus is yes, we can do drills, but it’s doing the drills to the max effort, and doing it the best that you can because you don’t want to just be going through the motions,” Aiken said.

With a lot of the athletes from the previous camps coming back, he said he’s seen the difference. “They look a lot more driven, working a lot harder, and holding themselves accountable to push and be better,” he said.

Day 1 started with burnout dribbling, pushing players to keep control while tired. Then came finishing from the right wing, working different footwork and both hands. Later, they got into three-player motion, focusing on spacing, timing, and moving with each other. By the end, the gym felt more active, more connected.

Day 2 was quicker. Fast break 1-on-1 to start, getting a shot up in six to eight seconds. Then 2-on-2 work—help defense, recovery, and making decisions on the fly.

Jim, Orica top Happy Hearts 5K

The CHCC Sunshine Squad and Run Saipan were at it again with their mission to get people moving with their 5th edition of the Happy Hearts 5K on Friday, Apr. 3 during golden hour at the Garapan Fishing Base.

Despite it being Holy Friday and with hundreds trekking up Mt. Tapochau early in the morning, the turnout was still pretty big during the sunset race with close to 100 participants. Just as soon as the race started, it ended with Takeru Jim finishing strong and first overall with a time of 19:18, followed by Eugene Olivar coming in at 20:45, and J.P. Camacho close behind with a time of 20:58.

In the overall women's results, Orica George took first place with a time of 24:45, with An Bang in second place finishing at 26:13, while Olivia Leung rounded out the top three with a time of 27:04.

With this race sponsored by CHCC, there were also Top 3 men and women for CHCC staff who joined. For the men’s staff category, Edmundo Bata led the group with a time of 25:47. Kurt Songsong followed in second place at 27:32, and Fitz Gerald Cuenco finished third with a time of 37:17.

In the CHCC staff women results, Roxanne Joyce Soriano came in first with a time of 30:19. Mackenzie Powers earned second place finishing at 32:27, and Emele Tamanikaiverat placed third with a time of 37:23.

Dr. Jenna Kong, CHCC Sunshine Squad’s chair and internal medicine physician said that the group donated $500 to Run Saipan as they do every year and provided refreshments for the race. The goal of this event, she said, “is to encourage cardiovascular health and to have fun walking, jogging, running, and just being outdoors and exercising their heart.”

The Sunshine Squad is composed of members from various hospital departments and their committee’s purpose is to sponsor social events that foster camaraderie among providers and to provide quarterly donations to various nonprofit organizations.

She then expressed gratitude to everyone who supported the event, including those who registered but could not attend due to the holiday, and thanked Run Saipan for their coordination efforts.

Team CNMI in Fiji for POJC 2026

Despite the heavy rain in Fiji, the Pacific Oceania Junior Championships is underway from April 10-18, with Team NMI bringing a 14-team delegation. They are Isaiah Arriola-Mook, Tim Watson, Gabriel Walsh, Fiona Yu, Aileen Kim, Harper Loken, Daniel Kang, Matt Zhu, Cody Park, Stella Choi, Ryan Choi, Anne Lee, Vivian Chung, and Selina Chi.

Tsunami swim team in Japan for swim camp

From April 1 to 9, a group of CNMI swimmers from the Tsunami Swim Club traveled to Japan for a training camp with college swimmers from Japan’s College League Division 1 Hosei University.

The main goal was to train in a 50m pool—something they don’t have back home in Saipan.

“We can never have this kind of training in Saipan,” said Tsunami head coach Hiroyuki Kimura, describing the experience as great.

The Tsunami Saipan swimmers included Kouki Watanabe, Maria Batallones, Justin Ma, Richard Zhao, Sari Barman, and Maria Guerrero, along with coach Kimura. Training alongside college-level athletes brought a whole new level of intensity and exposure, Kimura said.

Meanwhile, Watanabe trained separately in Osaka with the Hirakata Swimming Club, where he shared the pool with some of the sport’s top names, including a world championships gold medalist, a world junior record holder, and other international-level swimmers.

Even with the high-level environment, the focus stayed simple. “Our main purpose is to [have a] fit body and feeling for the 50m pool,” Kimura said, emphasizing that adapting to the long course setup matters more right now than anything technical.

And it’s all leading up to what’s next. With the Oceania Championships in Fiji coming up in May, this camp is a key part of their preparation. “Very good,” said Kimura when asked how it’s helping.

For a team coming from a place without a 50m pool, just getting this kind of training time could make all the difference when they hit the blocks next month.

CHCC, Marpac punch tickets to Gov/Biz semis

The stakes were high and the tensions were higher in the playoffs of the 2026 NMIBF-Priority Care Government/Business Basketball League, with CHCC and Marpac punching their tickets to the semis after their games on Mar. 30.

CHCC won in overtime against Tan Holdings, 88-85, and then defeated PSS just last night, 82-74. Meanwhile, Marpac lost to Priority Care 76-89. Priority Care awaits the winner of CHCC vs. Marpac.

Last stretch of interscholastic sports underway

The final stretch of interscholastic sports are underway as the 2025-2026 school year comes to a close. After spring break, student athletes were back at it on the pitch, courts, and track with the opening of the All Schools Track and Field, boys high school volleyball, co-ed elementary softball, boys middle school soccer, and girls middle school basketball.

Meanwhile, the girls high school fastpitch softball season was slated to start today, but was postponed due to the weather.