JEDDAH, 3 May — Giant Stores off to a rousing start with an 88-67 crushing of Ubhur Jamjoom, while Masa Pest Control humbled Zuhair Fayez, 88-65, in the 9th ALJ Invitational Basketball Tournament at the ALJ court in Al Safa district.

Playing under the banner of Pride dairy products, Giant Stores drew highly productive performance from Teddy Jamahali and Douglas, with Lang Indal, Morales and Joseph Diaz getting into the act without let up. With Giant Stores taking an almost insurmountable 65-48 lead going into the fourth quarter, Ubhur Jamjoom were in trouble finding either no room to run for offense or being forced into fumbles for many turnovers.

Giant Stores’ defense were superb to maintain the lead and secured victory by slowing down the tempo to play the clock until the game expired. "My boys had a hard time despite the win. Everybody was still finding his groove but this is a good way to start", said coach Zaldy Mohamad of his charges who keep on improving as a team for the grind ahead.

Masa Pest Control opened up fast the lead, with Talastas being aggressive and carried the scoring load. Talastas sank half of the pest control specialists’ output that mattered most in building up the momentum. Although they were threatened a lot of times, Talastas single-handedly protected Masa’s lead which was no longer erased despite the efforts of Ryan Tiu and Ed Umlas who respectively pumped in 16 and 15 points for Zuhair Fayez.

The inter-company open game saw Toshiba narrowly escaping from the upset ax with a hard-earned 98-97 victory over Zuhair Fayez Partnership. With Toshiba teetering from the brink of ouster in the tight duel, Thamer came to the team’s rescue with a put back that lifted Toshiba ahead by just a hairline after several deadlocks. A grueling helter-skelter followed, allowing Zuhair Fayez to regain the lead via Quintana’s two freebies.

While both teams refused to crumble, they were seen standing alongside at 96. But luck was with the pressure-packed Toshiba when, owning ball possession in the final thirteen seconds, they found a gem in Ed Manuel who escaped before a swarm of Zuhair Fayez defenders and scored a barreling lay-up. The shot merely decided the issue after Ryan Tiu split his charities in the final three seconds.

In the inter-company bona fide division, Dr. Soliman Fakeeh continued to race away from the pack with another impressive 89-75 thumping of Sharbatly Coldstores. Turning to a bevy of role players, Soliman Fakeeh kept their record unblemished and left Sharbatly a bitter team, with Noel Miguel, Paller and Torres keeping the team’s head up staving off their opponent’s repeated rallies. The win was Soliman Fakeeh’s third, as it sent Sharbatly crushing to its second setback.

The scores:

Giant Stores-88: T. Jamahalli-18, Douglas-15, L. Indal-9, Morales-9, J. Diaz-9, Asperga-8, Buan-6, Alcaraz-4, Corpio-2, Dodon-2, Ligamzon-2 beat Obhur Jamjoom-67: Cristobal-20, C. Bondoc-19, Garay-16, Lazaro-5, Alcantara-3, Cristobal-2, Halog-2.

Masa Pest Control-88: Talastas-44, Fernandez-17, Pinpino-14, Tayag-7, Beldia-4, Faderogaya-2 beat Zuhair Fayez-65: R. Tiu-16, E. Umlas-15, R. Daza-8, Santos-8, Umlas-8, Tumale-6, R. Nebrida-4.

Toshiba-98: E. Gadingan-45, N. Peredo-22, Tamer-8, J. Dela Vega-6, E. Manuel-4, J. Dilawangun-4, E. Burlat-2, E. Dolaogon-2, G. Leal-2, beat Zuhair Fayez-97: Quintana-23, Reyes-17, Oppus-15, Umlas-11, Tiu-9, Mercado-7, Avila-5, Nebrida-4, Tumale-2.

Dr. Soliman Fakeeh-89: N. Miguel-20, Paller-16, Torres-12, M. Ponce-8, Loremia-7, Ticson-6, Joyosa-6, Manzano-6, Sabado-4, Villacorta-2, Morales-2 beat Sharbatly Coldstores-75: Diansay-19, Remigio-17, Penaflor-16, Alberca-12, Beltran-9, Ang-.