JEDDAH, 23 November — Newcomers Jeddah Thai relied on their strong frontline trio to chalk up an 83-75 win in their initial game over Michelin-PD even as Dynarabia Fire Rescue threw the Safari-Metal Work Co. KAIA Rim invitational basketball tournament into a wild and wooly race to the finals with an 86-78 overtime thriller against Giant Stores.
Safari project manager Abdullah S. Al-Shamasi along with Metal Work Company are the principal sponsors of this highly exciting and evenly balanced tournament which is likely to be joined by another squad, the Budget Rent-A-Car services under manager/playing coach Philip Eustaquio who had expressed their intention to join the Friendship Games. Individual sponsors sought out by the Jeddah All-Sports Development to support this Safari Basketball Association undertaking include Ali M. Badreddine and IAP senior engineer Chris Bain.
A strong team under the cudgels of Thai national restaurateur Montree, Jeddah Thai, started tentatively and fell by several ten-point leads against PD Michelin as Roel Cabilen worked unstoppable inside and combined beautifully with Roger Roxas and Leo Aloyon in dominating the game all throughout the first quarter and most of the second.
However, when the third quarter unfolded, Jeddah Thai’s Montes, Bondoc and Salugsugan went to work in clocklike precision offensively and defensively. They mounted a spirited rally, overhauling the big lead of PD-Michelin in just the first three minutes of the third period and sustained their momentum from thereon and won that quarter 28-14, largely by throwing big-bodied Allan Yumang, Bondoc and Guinto against Cabilen who run out of steam in the homestretch unable to get needed support from fellow SHM selection Rolly Bagaporo and 5 foot 11 Manny Mercado in a highly physical game underneath the boards.
In the King Abdul Aziz International Airport Rim inter-company division, veteran cager Ed Marquez, former varsitarian of Cebu Institute of Technology, dished a vintage performance in bailing out Dynarabia to a stupendous victory as he sent the game into overtime with a buzzer-beater three-point heave from the left corner pocket ending the regulation period at 65-all.
Not only did Marquez top scored for the match with 28 points but provided the crucial leadership at a time when imminent defeat was staring at the face of the Fire Rescuers which managed to chop a double-digit Giant Stores lead midway in the fourth. Hurco scored 16 markers and Art Oliva chipped in 14 in a balanced Dynarabia counter that also featured Langamin’s eagerness to step into the role of a legitimate pointguard, a void left by their ace playmaker Jun Imperial
The trio of Diaz, Bautista and Asperga combined for 53 points for Giant and looked poised to an easy victory as they started to mount huge leads late in the third and early in the fourth period with coach Dennis Eco and manager Orlando Carpio comfortably looking into the game.
Dynarabia refused to buckle down to pressure even with two of their key men Oliva and Hurco were playing the fourth frame with four fouls each. Giant’s undoing was that they concentrated too much on attacking the defense of these Dynarabia behemoths in the hope of taking them out of the game but in the process resulted in numerous offensive moves gone to waste as the support crew of Fire Rescuers Rubio, Dicdican and Adolfo who were not in foul trouble stood up to the onslaught.
Losing coach Dennis Eco rued what he thought were miscalls by the officials citing the particular instance of a very late call made when Safari’s Jim Tomas lost the leather and Giant had already brought down the ball to the other side only to be stymied by the whistling of referee Toto Batayola responding to Tomas’ signals that he was poked in the eyes by his defender.
Dynarabia improved to 2-3 while the standing of Giant store is pegged at 3-3. Giant’s loss means that their fate hangs in the balance — virtually out of their hands — a victory would have ensured an automatic finals berth and an advantageous twice-to-beat and once-to win privilege, instead they are now hoping for a quadruple tie of 3-3 cards at the completion of the remaining games.
The direct beneficiary of coach Mar Canoza and team manager Garong’s victory was idle Gillette Mach 3 of team managers Rene Valle and Sammy Lumboy and coached by Monching Constantino which now leads the league precariously at 3-2. Host SHM Safari under coach Ato Gomez is 2-2, with a chance of entering the championship outright should it win its last two assignments in Gillette and Dynarabia.
It will be a dogfight tonight when Gillette Mach 3 face hosts Safari team. Should Gillette win, it ends up its campaign on top with 4-2 card and can wrap up the championship with just a single victory on line. Otherwise, it has to be beaten twice by the second placed team. If Safari wins against Gillette and lose its final assignment with Dynarabia, then the teams are tied at 3-3 wherein points system of breaking the tie will be applied.
