JEDDAH, 15 March — The 2nd Danube Inter-color Basketball Tournament came to a successful conclusion recently when Danube Fruto swept Danube Sadafco, 2 games to 0, in the best-of-three championship series and claimed the crown.
Fruto took the first game via a 66-63 victory and bolstered their serious bid to dethrone defending champions Sadafco. It was a close victory for Fruto as they trailed Sadafco most of the game. In the early going, it looked as if Sadafco was heading to an easy victory when they led Fruto by 12 points, with Jhez “Alipugpog” Alfonso almost scoring at will. But when coach Rico Domasian recalled Alfonso to the bench midway in the first half, Fruto rallied to close the gap and eventually tied the score at the half, with the buzzer beating 3-pointer by Bruce “The Triggerman” Banaag.
At the resumption of the game, the offense of Sadafco turned sour while Fruto continued to burn the hoops. And only after 5 minutes of play, Fruto led Sadafco by seven points. Coach Rico Domasian called for an early time out to devise a defensive plan. His ploy was effective as the defense of Sadafco cooled the hot hands of the Fruto gunners. With only 3 minutes remaining in the game, they grabbed a 3-point lead by the score of 61 to 58. But Fruto countered a 6 to 2 run to get back to the driver seat, and with time down to 1 minute and 38 seconds, led Sadafco by a solitary point. Two more free throws of Fruto padded their lead to 3 points, time down to 16 seconds. They escaped with a win when Jhez “Alipugpog” Alfonso missed four consecutive free throws and Manny Fernandez’ game tying 3 points shot rimmed out.
Fruto was led by Michael Bendicio who tallied 20 points and 10 rebounds to be adjudged as the best player of the game. He got ample support from Bruce Banaag with 17, Ariel “Alfie” Gabia with 13 and Bobot Ibesa with 9 points. Sadafco, on the other hand, was paced by Jhez “Alipugpog” Alfonso with 19 points and 12 rebounds while Roderick “Yoyong” Sauquillio tallied 12 points and grabbed a league high of 19 rebounds. Boy Cartajena also scored in double digit with 11 points.
The second game showed Fruto repeating the sweep over Sadafco and bagged the 2nd Danube Inter-Color Basketball Tournament crown. It was a low-scoring ball game as both teams applied tougher defense, which caused numerous turnovers for both teams. Going to the last 2 minutes in the first half, Fruto was leading Sadafco by 10 points, but Sadafco countered a 9 to 0 blast to trail Fruto by only 1 point at the end of the first half.
Sadafco continued its scoring streak and tough defense in the second half. They held Fruto scoreless for a span of 7 minutes and with their offense working, took a 3-point lead. Sensing that the momentum was already on the side of Sadafco, coach Joy Permejo called for a Fruto’s timeout. He urged his players not to waste their opportunities and concentrate on the ball. His players responded well as they immediately tied the score, and with only 6 minutes remaining, led Sadafco by 5 points. With Ariel “Alfie” Gabia and Michael Bendicio swapping baskets with Sadafco gunners, they maintained their 5 points lead until the final buzzer. The game ended with the score of 58 to 53.
Fruto was led in its march to victory by Ariel “Alfie” Gabia whose double performance of 12 points and 10 rebounds earned for him the best player of the game award. He was amply supported by Michael Bendicio, Bruce Banaag and Michael Castillejo with 13, 11 and 9 points apiece. The losing team was again paced by Jhez “Alipugpog” Alfonso who tallied 14 points while Roderick “Yoyong” Sauquillo and Rey Torres contributed 11 and 9 points apiece.
The tournament was concluded with the awarding of trophies, medals, plaques and certificates. First in the list of the awardees was Bruce “The Triggerman” Banaag of Fruto who was adjudged as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The complete lists of the awardees are as follows: Joy Permejo-best coach, Ruen Villegas and Bruce Banaag-best guards, Michael Bendicio and Jhez Alfonso-best forwards, Roderick Sauquillo-best center.
Comprising the second mythical five awards were Allen Ng and Marlon Calayo-best guards, Amang Catador and Lito Llave-best forwards and Vic Mabutol-best center. Jhez Alfonso-sportsmanship award, Ruen Villegas-highest individual scorer, Roderick Sauquillo-leader in rebounds and shot blocks, Marlon Calayo-leader in assists, Boy Cartajena-leader in steals, Willy Cartajena-highest three-point shooter, Bimboy Moriel-best team manager, Alex Gales-darling of the crowd and Cris Felicisimo-smallest player.
Danube Fruto led the team awards as the tournament champions, with American Garden as first runners-up, Sadafco-second runners-up, Nouri trading as third runners-up and Star Carma bringing home the team sportmanship award. Certificate of appreciation was also awarded to the Lotus Compound management for their support and contributions to the success of the tournament.
The officers of the tournament committee headed by Commissioner Peng T. Domingo and Chairmen Ronnie Llave and Ramon Dellosa also awarded certificates of appreciation to all its members; Eduard Noel, Allan Ocenar, Bernie Portillo, Ferdie Pangan, Edwin Exconde, Eric Barcibal, Web Panigbatan, Paul Calayan, Abdullah Esma, Willy Cartajena and Darius Valencia for their untiring support and whole-hearted commitment to the success of the tournament.
