By Kyle Twardowski
For Triton’s Call

The University of Guam has not held home to a competitive sports team in over a decade, despite there being many talented athletes on Guam. Few of these athletes move on to compete at the international level and even fewer enroll in stateside university sports programs.
“There is not any reason why we are the only university in the south pacific that doesn’t have university sports teams, and I’m here to make sure that happens,” said Tony Thompson, head coach of the University of Guam Triton men’s basketball team.
Thompson has been involved with the organization of Guam sports teams for over 25 years, including the UOG sports organizations before they were cut over ten years ago. He currently holds a position on the board of the International Basketball Federation (IBF, FIBA in French) and is also the former basketball coach and current athletic director at the Father Duenas Memorial School.
The team has been a dream of Thompson’s for many years and it came true after a conversation with EJ Calvo, the head coach of the Guam men’s national basketball team.
Along with Calvo’s interest and with the help of Carlos Taitano, Director of Professional and International Programs at UOG, the group has come together to unify the Guam basketball community with the university as a collective effort for the community and the students.
The Triton basketball team, however, is just the beginning of Thompson’s vision. He said that soon enough there will be other teams revived and playing such as volleyball and soccer.
Thompson stated that with the revival of these sports teams, the students will have something to look forward to; it will, raise the spirits of the students who live on campus, and give them other venues to attend as an outlet for their leisure.
The UOG men’s basketball team will be competing in the Guam Basketball Association League, which is going to launch in April of this year.
The league is a creative effort of both Thompson and Calvo to unify the top-six basketball teams on island, with the top players enrolled at the University of Guam. The league brings a unique aspect incorporating unmodified and legitimate international rules which is something that Thompson said Guam lacks in most of their leagues.
When UOG had competitive sports teams, the teams didn’t just play on the island, but they also traveled overseas to countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, and China.
Thompson is currently looking to launch the team into those leagues, as well as bring those teams to Guam as part of the International Friendship Tournament.
Playing in the University Games of the Pacific Islands is Thompson’s goal, as that hasn’t happened since 1992.
Jordan Tingson, a graduating UOG senior and one of the guards playing on the Triton’s basketball team, said it is difficult to get back into a competitive basketball state-of-mind after not playing for some time.
Tingson, who is no newcomer to Guam basketball, said since there are limited opportunities on island for basketball after high school graduation, it’s not hard to give up.
He explained the opportunities that do exist are more demanding on time, which most people don’t have. With the university creating its first team since the 1990s, it’s an opportunity for Tingson to still play the game he enjoys at a competitive, less time-consuming level.
Thomspon’s main goal with the implementation of this team is to elevate the skills of the players and to also give them the confidence to move up to the international leagues and maybe beyond.
“As we grow, to implement other leagues and to play with other universities, we’re also going to grow as a team and try to recruit more high school kids to play here at the university,” said Thompson.