JEDDAH, 17 May — Grossly offensive results, transpired from tight endgame melees, blotted five of the six weekend games in the scorching elimination rounds of the 9th ALJ Invitational Basketball Tournament at the ALJ court in Jeddah.
Fujitech came up with a big comeback magic but unable to win it outright in regulation. The elevator specialists needed a pair of Demetrio’s free throws late in overtime to finally put away A. K. Amoudi, 82-80. Fujitech checked a third quarter slide by finishing strong to the fourth, with the superb blending of Demetrio and Dagdag combining for 14 points. It was Siazon, however, who secured the game into overtime by connecting a jumper and Amoudi ran out of time to break the knot that left the game tied 64-all.
Four deadlocks later in the overtime period, Demetrio came up to be Fujitech’s savior. That was when Amoudi’s Danganan inadvertently gave up a foul on the dribbling Demetrio just after crossing the mid-court line, with only two seconds left. He lived to his reliable free throw shooting, hitting both and sealed Fujitech’s first taste of victory in three games. The win also positioned back Fujitech in contention, while waiting for the advent of their main man Jong Rapada.
Esquierdo completed a gem of a play, barely beating the final buzzer with a put back that enabled Budget Rent-A-Car to escape with a 69-67 victory over Sharbatly Coldstores. Esquierdo actually played one of his finest games, bailing out Budget Rent-A-Car by hitting 20 points to put them on top. However, he was not through playing hero when Sharbatly’s Remigio split his charities to peg the score at 67-all in the final 13 seconds.
Luck and one gutsy rebound and a put back by Esquierdo, after two missed underneath attempts, played a big role in Budget’s victory. That rebound all but secured Budget’s third win in four games, leaving no time left for Sharbatly’s last gasp. The win also settled the car rental team to join Dr. Soliman Fakeeh and Masa Pest Control in the roster of would be finalists.
In the Zuhair Fayez versus Giant Stores encounter, the former escaped from the brink of ouster with an 87-83 victory. The winners started out fast for an eight-point lead, with Quintana and Reyes being aggressive and carried the scoring load, as they maintained the lead by three points, 39-36, at the half-time break.
Giant Stores began to work on the offense by employing their running game, with Diaz and Jamahali’s conversions and steals. The effort expended helped them to stay within a striking distance, while putting Zuhair Fayez in the trouble of finding no room to run for offense. However, Giant Stores lost its steam and eventually crumbled when Jamahali and Indal were fouled-out thereby allowing Zuhair Fayez to stay in the lead.
Friday’s game results followed the same pattern, with Dr. Solaiman Fakeeh Hospital pulling the rug from under Masa Pest Control, 88-83. As in their previous games, the foursome Miguel, Ponce, Torres and Paller took matters into their own hands, connecting crucial baskets and controlled the boards with their height advantage. They scored all but nine of the output for Soliman Fakeeh to maintain its untainted winning record, 4-0. The win also claimed the group-B solo leadership and assured the team for a seat in the four-team semifinal affair.
The Strikers, with Cabilen taking the cudgel, continued to race away from the pack by posting yet another exhilarating performance against Ubhur Jamjoom, 81-76. He came up big when the Strikers needed him most, as he personally bailed out the Strikers from a searing Ubhur Jamjoom comeback, highlighted by 25 points, all in the final half. Bong Umlas and Ed Nava combined for 24 points that was enough to counter Chris Bondoc’s 24 points for Ubhur Jamjoom.
