TRITONS SPORTS LOOKING AT A BIG DAY SATURDAY

PRESS RELEASE – Saturday, April 29 is a big sporting day for Triton Athletics and Field House Department, as there are big games in the UOG Baseball Classic and Triton Men’s Basketball League. In baseball, one of the bigger baseball rivalries that has developed quickly over the past year is between the UOG Tritons and Guam Junior National Team and both teams collide on Saturday at 3 pm at the George Washington High School Baseball Field in the winner’s bracket final with the winner advancing to the championship game of the tournament and the loser dropping to the loser’s bracket.

In the Triton Men’s Basketball League, the “Big” game doesn’t involve the Tritons but the two best teams in the league and maybe the two best club teams on Guam, as the KFC Bombers from Andersen Air Force Base and the MVP Stars meet at 1 pm in the UOG Calvo Field House. Both teams have split the Triton League’s Championship over the past two seasons, and they meet on the final day of the regular season for the league this semester.

Back to baseball, the Tritons restarted their program back in the spring of 2022, by hosting a tournament at Paseo Stadium with the Guam Junior Nationals being one of the four teams in the tournament. The Junior Nationals beat UOG twice in the tournament and went on to finish 2^nd in the tournament to the Dodgers. The Tritons got a bit of revenge on the Nationals, as they defeated the Junior Nationals in the Guam Major League that spring and gave them their only defeat of the regular season.

Both teams met last weekend in the UOG Baseball Classic and tied 5-5 in a time limited game and both teams got a bit emotional during the game. Said UOG Athletic Director Doug Palmer “It is rare for us to play a team that is basically the same age as our team, as we usually play adult teams in almost every sport, we play at UOG, so there is a bit more passion in the younger players, and it can spill out in a close contested game, and it did a bit last week. We look for a very competitive game on Saturday, as both teams want to win this tournament as it is the only baseball at this level being played on Guam right now”. Both teams are 3-0-1 in the UOG Baseball Classic at the moment.

In men’s basketball, the KFC Bombers defeated the MVP Stars in their first game of the season, 102-83 and Palmer feels the MVPs are looking for a bit revenge and wants to prove they belong on the same court as the Bombers. “These are two very competitive teams and our last two champions in the Triton League. I expect both teams want to win Saturday to build confidence in the winning the championship against each other, as playoffs start next week and both teams are expected to meet again in the championship game”. The KFC Bombers are also on a 20 game winning streak in the Triton League and the MVPs would love to end that streak.

Also in the Triton Men’s Basketball League, the UOG Tritons face the MicroFriends at 2:45 pm and Team OG faces the Navy Ballers at 4:30 pm. All games on Saturday have ramifications in the final seeding for the playoffs and the Tritons and MicroFriends have built a rivalry as well, since UOG has played in several MicroFriends tournaments over the past year with a Triton team winning the recent MicroFriends 3X3 tournament in the UOG Calvo Field House. UOG’s lone victory of the season in the

TMBL came over the MicroFriends earlier in the season. The Microfiends have not picked up a win yet and it is their last chance for the regular season.

In baseball, the Braves and Cardinals meet at noon on Saturday as well, with the winner advancing in the tournament and the loser being eliminated. The loser of the Tritons and Junior Nationals game will play the winner of the Braves and Cardinals on Sunday, in the 2^nd elimination game of the tournament with the winner advancing to the championship game and the loser being eliminated.

It would be possible for sport fans to watch both games on Saturday, as the KFC Bombers and MVP Stars play at 1 pm on Saturday in the UOG Calvo Field House, and the UOG Tritons and Guam Junior Nationals play at 3 pm at George Washington High School Baseball Field, 300 yards away from the field house.