JEDDAH, 25 January — As the conclusion of the weeding out process in the ongoing 2nd Danube Inter-Color Basketball Tournament draws near, the teams are fighting it out tooth and nail to make it to the semifinals rounds. This was exemplified by the games that fitted Danube Fruto against Danube Mach3 and Danube Green Giant versus Star Carma last Monday at the Lotus IV compound in Jeddah.
Smarting from its shocking defeat over Nouri Trading, Danube Fruto got back to its deadly form to hand Danube Mach3 their worst loss, 83-64. From the tip off, Fruto applied its crippling defense and offensive plays that worked fluidly and led the first half by 11 points. Danube Mach3 tried it hard to reverse the issue but Fruto’s Bruce Banaag continued to blaze the hoops. To some extent, Fruto coach Joy Permejo even have the luxury of pulling out his top players in the final three minutes of the game.
Banaag was again adjudged as best player of the game for his superb performance. He amassed 27 points, hauled down 5 rebounds and issued 2 assists. Michael Bendicio also shone for the Fruto team with 22 points and 6 rebounds. Bobot Ibesa, back from vacation, contributed 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. On the other hand, Ramil Martin sank 20 points, with Joel Valiente and John Garcia adding 16 and 9 points. With the win, coach Permejo’s charges leveled with their victim, toting a 2-2 win-loss card.
Playing coach Darius Valencia’s Danube Green Giant played with imminent defeat before pulling the rug from under Danube Star Carma, 67-59. With Willy Cartajena and Willy Perez combining their efforts, Star Carma showed the way from the start of the game. But that was until Green Giant came up with solid defense and started finding its range to equalize the score in the final two minutes. Star Carma never recovered in that short span of time, paving the way for Green Giant to lead and never looked back.
All players fielded by mentor Valencia scored, with Manny Campos being chosen as best player of the game by topping the scoring chart with 15 points, aside from hauling down 13 rebounds. He got ample support from Valencia, Michael Beltran and Aldrin Abutin who all contributed double figures. The losing Star Carma had the diminutive rookie Cris Endaya topping with 15 points, while Cris Felicisimo, Vic Mabutol and Perez added 15, 12 and 10 points respectively.
Tuesday’s skirmishes showed Danube Mach-3 venting their ire on Danube Sadafco so incensed that after 20 minutes of play, they were already leading by 12 points. However, the second half saw Sadafco applying a crippling full court press and trapping defense that caused numerous turnovers by their opponent. Coach Rey Torres’ strategy proved successful, as they grabbed the lead and even ballooned to as much as 7 points going into the last 8 minutes of play.
Knowing that another defeat could cost them the ticket to the semifinal round, Danube Mach3 coach Jonas David exhorted his players to give their best. They responded well and with less that 3 minutes remaining in the game, they eventually regained the lead and won by 11 points, 70-59. The win was paced by ace point guard Ramil Martin who orchestrated the play with 12 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds, as he was adjudged as best player of the game. Danube Mach3 improved to 3-2 win-loss card, while Sadafco suffered its second consecutive loss after two consecutive wins.
In the final game, Danube Nouri Trading continued their winning run by humbling the formidable Lotus American Garden, 84-78. This time, captain ball Lito Llave shone the brightest among Nouri Trading’s collection of stars, as he blazed the hoops with 24 points, aside from hauling down 8 rebounds. For his efforts, he was the top pick as the best player, supported by Ruen Villegas, Rene Arcillias and playmaker Marlon Calayo with 22, 16 and 12 points, respectively. With its third successive win, Nouri Trading climbed to the leader board alongside its victim and Danube Mach-3 with an identical 3-2 win-loss standing. Lotus American Garden was led by consistent highest pointer Amang Catador with 26 points, with Alex Sargento and Allen Ng adding 21 and 18 points.
Meanwhile, the MFBA Open Basketball Classic is scheduled to start on Feb. 8, at the Hafil court (formerly Sasco) in Jeddah. Three divisions shall comprise the event: the inter-maranao, inter-company bonafide and the inter-company open non-rated. Interested participants may contact MFBA president Mitchell Hadji Omar at 619-43-07, mobile 053-67-30-10, 053-60-28-48 (Mar M. Marzo) or E-mail [email protected].
