The opening of the Emon Lodge No. 179 Brotherhood Basketball League 2013/Docomo Pacific Cup has been moved to June 30 at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

League chair Bong Malasarte in a telephone interview with Saipan Tribune said they decided to reschedule the kick-off from June 23 to next Sunday, as the gym will host Trech Tech's Art of War 8: Grappling and Submission Challenge this Saturday and they may run out of time getting the facility ready for the Sunday morning opening ceremony.

Malasarte added that two more teams have confirmed their participation to the open league, bringing the field to eight. Adobo, which won a championship in the DLX caging and was a runner-up in the same league that concluded another season last week, and High-Five, which won the 30A title in the Masters caging early this month, are the newest addition to the Emon Lodge caging. They will join two-time champion Mobil, Mariana Resort & Spa, KFC, Pacific Islands Club, the Ol'Aces, and Proa. Mobil won the inaugural season of the Emon Lodge league in 2010 after beating Armatech in the finals, 93-80, and then defended its title against High-Five, 83-64, when the competition returned last year after taking a break in 2011.

This year, Emon Lodge will be played three times a week or every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday with two matches in each playing day. The first game tips off at 6:30pm, while the second match starts at 8pm.
Meeting tonight
Malasarte is calling on representatives of participating teams to attend a meeting tonight at 7pm at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Susupe.

Details about the opening and other important matters, such as tournament ground rules, will be discussed at the meeting.

For more information, contact Malasarte at 287-5525 or bong@malasarte.com and Peter Crisostomo at 483-2356.