JEDDAH, 28 February 2003 — Softdreams rolled to victory No. 2 in Group A as the 2nd Seiko-12th PEBA Open Basketball Tournament at the Industrial City moves to its second week of hardcourt action. Al-Soraiya Carpets, Nepro Plast, Syntech, and Al-Mutlaq (Group B) also tallied their first victories.
Al-Hussaini & Company, the sole distributor of Seiko watches in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the main sponsor of the tournament that will last for three months. Minor sponsors include Fuji Film, Al-Ghomri Sports Tailoring, Ay Sarap Restaurant, Internet@Cafe, Modern Dairy Products Company (Cortina juices), CMS Express Cargo (Carlson Express Services), Delta Water Company, ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel, Coca Cola Bottling Company, Egypt Air, Capnet International, Al-Hejaz Air & Sea Cargo Services, Felora Cargo Freight Services Philippines, L’Oreal SA, Farnas Cargo Services, “BM” Best, Al-Mutlaq Steel Industries, and Pioneer Allianz Insurance Company. While PEBA President Felix Jordan reiterated to participants that the tournament “is for physical fitness and camaraderie among Filipinos in the Industrial City area,” competing teams have shown intensity during games.
Group A leader Softdreams’ first victim was JEDAC, beating the latter 80-52. The second team to fall was King Abdul Azziz Hospital which Softdreams outplayed 77-67.
In other Group A games, JEDAC rebounded from its loss to Softdreams by beating Delta Water 73-65. Earlier Delta Water whipped United Cartons 67-58. Al-Soraiya blasted Southern Can 60-47; Nepro Plast was equally unforgiving in tearing apart ICI/Dulux 64-51, Syntech dumped Grain Silos 55-37, while Al-Mutlaq finally snatched its first victory by beating Saudi Pipe Systems 45-40.
In the feature game during the opening of the tournament, Southern Can almost lost a won game, but recovered in time, to edge Al-Mutlaq, 55-53. In the second game, IPSJ blasted Al-Hekma International School, 58-43 in an exhibition game featuring the two schools in Jeddah with predominantly Filipino students. To their credit, Al-Hekma kept the game close in the first half, only to fold up in the last canto due to foul trouble and exhaustion. Al-Hekma played with only seven players, while IPSJ came to the contest in full force. During the Haj holidays, Boy Corsega’s Jeddah Selection took no prisoners blasting the visiting Riyadh All-Stars, 81-53. Jeddah relentlessly pounded their younger rivals in an one-sided display.
Games of the 2nd Seiko/12th PEBA Open Basketball Tournament are played every Thursday and Friday at the COCG basketball court. The Jeddah Officiating Group (JOG), under the leadership of Toto Batayola, supervise the games.
