DAMMAM, 15 March — Crowd-favorites Wescosa of Dammam, pulled off a stunning upset of the mighty Jotun Corrocoat in the 2002 Open Conference of the prestigious Eastern Province Basketball League with a 100-96 overtime win recently at the Al-Nahda Club gymnasium in Dammam.

Reeling from their dismal opening day loss to Saudi Ready Mix, Wescosa almost suffered the same fate if not for a crucial player rotation by coach Andy Salalila with just over a minute left in regulation when the beleaguered bench tactician took out the clutch-shooting Julius Ybanez and sent the error-prone Robert Bandala after Ybanez gave Jotun its last lead at 84-83 via a triple.

After Bong Palad made it 85-83 with a split from the charity lane, the wild cheering Jotun fans suddenly became silent when Bandala made two consecutive passing errors at crunch time and Jess Dullavin equalized with a short jumper to the delight of drum-beating pro-Wescosa crowd. Walthur Javellana’s free throw with 12 ticks left in regulation would have sealed the victory for Wescosa but pressure crept into the hulking slotman as he missed both attempts while Jotun did not have enough time for a clear shot as regulation time expired.

“Obviously, we felt relieved when they took Ybanez out. He’s the only threat from outside and he almost killed us. Its short of saying they gave us this win (unknowingly) in a silver platter”, said the smiling Wescosa team manager, Gerry San Gabriel.

Wescosa quickly built up the lead in the initial minutes of extra period with a 9-4 salvo anchored by Nordy de Asis and Alvin Apuyan. Jotun tried to counter through the heroics of Boy Bravo but a full-course court press by Wescosa slowed them down. Jotun score only 5 points in the final two minutes of the game.

An emotional outburst by referee, Gerry Patalinghud, occurred during the final seconds of the match when ace guard, Bong Reyes, incessantly complained about a kick-ball violation called against teammate, Bong Palad, while Wescosa have all wrapped up the win.

The heated exchange got the ire of Patalinghud prompting the experienced official to take out his whistle and momentarily refuse to officiate the game to its conclusion.

While walking toward the officials’ table, he was met at mid-court by EPBL technical committee head, Alex Dela Reyna, and convinced him to finish the job.

“It was very uncharacteristic of Gerry to lose his cool just like that. I know the man. He’s been with EPBL for 15 years. However, with or without a valid reason, it is expected that players tend to complain in order to vent their frustrations on the hardcourt. Being a former player myself I know that there’s nothing personal about it. In such cases, the referees can either call for a technical or, worse, send the player out of the game”, said Dela Reyna.

Reyes, on the other hand, apologized to game officials after the match and gave an advise to Patalinghud for his actuations. “Being the team captain, I was just trying to point out something to him. He shouldn’t have walked out like that. I was really very surprised that he didn’t give me a technical, I deserve it.”

Reyes topped all scorers with 31 points followed by Palad with 29. De Asis led Wescosa with 28 while Apuyan chipped in 16.

In another League B matchup, Zahid Tractor-Volvo, tamed the fancied Surigao Warriors, 79-69, to start their campaign in this tournament jointly sponsored by Makati Express-LBC and Phuket Restaurant.

The addition of Nic Quintos into Zahid’s lineup during the off-season gave Volvo a much-needed boost at the backcourt while Roderick Boco’s entry provided inside muscle to the former League A champs. The duo combined for 17 points to bolster the output of mainstays, Danny and Bong Alcantara, who finished with 19 and 13 points, respectively.

Zahid team manager, Marwan Azraq, remains skeptical about their initial showing though. “We hope to win as many games as possible while we still have our players intact. Some of my boys will be leaving during the course of the tournament and we haven’t tested our bench yet to fill the expect void.”

Meanwhile, to beef up their roster, the Warriors acquired the services of Steeve Reeves and ex-ARCC players. Most notable of which is the tandem of Marlon Selloria and Abraham Alonzo, who led the defunct Ras Tanura cage squad to two Division II titles in 2002. The high-leaping Alonzo is still on vacation.

“It’s still a long way to go”, said team coordinator Alex Amo when asked about his team’s chances of going for a final’s trip following the heartbreaking loss. “We’re confident that we could turn things around. I just hope that it happens pretty soon.”

Reeves topped all scorers with 21 points.

In Division II, newcomer Basic Chemical Industries tasted their second loss in as many games when they succumbed to perennial title-contenders, Lummus/ACEC, 80-70.

BCI failed to barge into the winner’s column even after a more respectable showing than their first outing. Rey Garrido led BCI with 19 points while Ronan Bucal got all his 18 points from beyond the arc firing a conference high 6 triples.

“We already had our worst games and there’s no other way now but to get better”, stated Roy Villabos.

“We owe it to BCI management for their support and always coming in full force to see us play.” Indeed, high morale is very evident on the BCI squad as they led three-fourths of the match.

Lummus recovered from a slow start when the threesome of Botong Unabia, Boyet Tordecillas and Glenn Bermejo hit their strides from the perimeter in the fourth quarter while BCI’s offense methodically fell apart.