Northern Youth Basketball League to start in November

The upcoming tournament hosted by the Northern Youth Basketball League is expected to feature about 50 teams-half of them visitors, according to tournament officials. NYBA officials George Cruz and Joe Diaz disclosed that about 25 teams will be arriving for the tournament, with two expected from Rota, and about three to five from Tinian. The rest of the off-islands teams are coming from Guam.

The NYBA action, which will be held from Nov. 18 to Nov. 25, will feature competition in three divisions. Division I include players who are 12-and-under, Division II is reserved for players ages 13-15, and Division III will be for players whose ages are 16-19.
Cruz explained that many teams from Guam are interested in competing after the NYBA sent three teams to the Shell Guam 2005 Drug-Free Thanksgiving Youth Basketball Invitational. The Saipan delegation did very well in the tournament, winning the titles in the two younger age groups and placing first runner-up in the 16-19 age group.