RIYADH, 8 February — The games turned lopsided on the 10th playing week at the EEBA 2nd Conference Basketball Tournament Open Non-Commercial Category played every Friday here at the open basketball court of Euromarche.
Under-rated Dasnet routed the hometown rivals of Euromarche at the score of 96-71. Bison-Dizer drubbed Al-Tayyar from the start until the last tick of the clock (93-55). Cotabato rose from the brink of elimination to join the semifinal round after defeating the Warriors (90-55).
It was a do-or-die for Euromarche in order to bounce back for a berth in the semifinals. Unfortunately, the result sent them deeper to the bottom of the table. The coaching debut of Mike Al-Hadj for Euromarche Superstore was not a success story. In the first three minutes, he went frantic and lost control of the game. The seven players who reported to the bench cannot penetrate against the solid defenses of Dasnet.
The first five sent by Dasnet coach Edmond "Boy" Regalado against the Euromarche quintet of E. Labaya, B. Decena, R. Torio, A. Acebedo and R. Camag were invincible. After some corner shots posted by Labaya of Euromarche, Dasnet started accumulating points and went ahead by four points after three minutes of play. When the last tick of the clock in the first half went off, Dasnet controlled the game and was ahead by nine points (49-40).
Dasnet increased their lead in the second half. Placino unleashed his shooting skills, under goal baskets and boarding shots at the corner for a big 25 points. Equally superb in the supporting role were Almario, Tabanzura, Regalado and Mimbisa, who all recorded double-digit scores. The final score was 96-71.
In the second game, Bizon-Dizers mercilessly drubbed the winless Al Tayyar Group coached by Khasan Boncarawan. Vargas started his shooting spree and brought the score to 51-25 after the first half.
In the second canto, Cabalu and Coro tried to buoy up the spirit of Al Tayyar cagers with their fast drives and under goal baskets but the Bizon-Dizers squad never gave Al Tayyar a breather. Since the clock begun to tick till the dying seconds Bizon-Dizers team did not stop hitting baskets when every opportunity comes. The game ended at a score of 93-55.
The hopes of Cotabato came alive for a berth in the semifinals after crushing the Warriors at the score of 90-55. Coach Nasser Malang capitalized on the under goal baskets of Salac, corner shots of Carulasa, running game of Badawi and the zigzagging drives of Castillo, who were all supported in rotation by Dibaraton, Magbanua, Ampuang, Perez and Bueta.
Cotabato started to enjoy comfortable lead immediately after four minutes of play. In the first half the game carded 55-35 when the clock stopped to tick. Since then, they never allowed the Warriors to come closer and reduce the margin to as low as 15. In the last three minutes, Salac unleashed his formidable shooting ability and stretched their lead to 35 big points.
The scores:
Dasnet — 96: Placino 25, Almario 16, Tabanzura 15, Regalado 14, Mimbisa 12, Aguinaldo 8, Canillas 4 and Natividad 2. Euromarche — 71: Labaya 26, Decena 18, Torio 8, Acebedo 8, Cammag 7, Manalastas 2 and Capobres 2. First-half — 49-40.
Bizon-Dizers — 93: Vargas 24, Diaz 14, Galvan 12, Villanueva 10, Suan 10, Navarro 8, Armando 6, Jesena 5 and Fornalos 4. Al-Tayyar Group — 55: Cabalu 20, Coro 8, Sumayod 7, Santos 6, Dagundon 6, Unayan 4 and Bonkarawan 4. First-half — 51-25.
Cotabato — 90: Salac 25, Carulasa 14, Badawi 12, Castillo 10, Dibaraton 9, Magbanua 8, Ampuan 6, Perez 4 and Bueta 2. Warriors — 55: Constantino 21, Payumo 11, Saminado 11, Zabala 7, Galang 4 and Regala 1. First-half — 55-35.
