The UOG Triton Athletics program inducted six former athletes into the Hall of Fame with a reception and basketball game on Oct. 29, 2017 in the UOG Calvo Field House.
The six honorees were John Borden for football, Susan Lupola for women’s basketball, Tommy Morrison for baseball, Hauhouot Diambra-Odi for men’s soccer, Ronald Camacho for football, and Theresa Sison for women’s basketball.
According to UOG Athletic Director Doug Palmer, some of the criteria that the honorees met were that they played for Guam national teams, represented UOG, and played or coached three to four years for UOG sports teams.
“I was asked to give a roster of some names of players and what they have done, but I wasn’t really expecting that I would be the one to be picked,” said Hauhouot Diambra-Odi, one of the inductees, as he reacted after hearing he was on the list of honorees.
“I know my dad’s been part of the University of Guam soccer for a long time, so finally getting recognized for it is pretty cool,” said Jacques Odi, Hauhouot Diambra-Odi’s son.
In the early 1990’s, Odi played for the men’s soccer team for UOG and from 1995 to 1998, he was the head men’s soccer coach for UOG.
Odi also coached the best goalkeeper and the top scorer in the league. In addition, both of Odi’s sons, Jacques Odi and Hauhouot Diambra Odi Jr., were also part of the Guam National Soccer Team.
The event kicked off with a reception where the honorees were able to socialize and enjoy food that was provided. This was followed by a series of short speeches from the honorees.
In his speech, Odi describes his first pair of soccer shoes in his speech as being the brand barefoot which means he used to play soccer barefoot at first.
After the reception, there was a basketball game between the UOG Tritons and the MVP Aces. The UOG Tritons beat the MVP Aces with a score of 123-111 which allowed the UOG Tritons to remain undefeated.
“It was a fun and competitive game going up against several players on the Guam national team,” said Geno Anderson, a point guard for the UOG Tritons. Anderson scored 19 points and seven assists in the game against the MVP Aces.
Theresa Sison, one of the honorees, refereed the Hall of Fame basketball game. During half-time, UOG President Robert Underwood presented each of the honorees with a plaque and a handshake of congratulations.
UOG Athletic Director Doug Palmer said, “The event was carried out exactly as planned, so I was very happy with the execution of the event. I have started two other Hall of Fames at other institutions and this was the same basic plan I had for them. ”