ALKHOBAR, 27 February 2004 — Al-Fidasca came through in the crucial stretch of the final quarter to take home the championship trophy, out-playing FMQ-Al Qahtani & Sons, 96-87, in the decisive Game 2 of their Division C finals series at IPSA Basketball court here.
Al-Fidasca leaned on back-to-back clutch hits from Roy Benedicto, who led a vital 7-0 run, while Nestor Saboy, Alvin Sandrino and Zandro Petallana made successive shots to complete a sweep of their championship duel with Al-Qahtani.
Al-Fidasca used a solid defensive trap throughout the remaining 8 minutes in the final quarter to confuse FMQ’s key players. Roy Benedicto, a member of Mythical 5 scored 17 points and shared the limelight with MVP Zandro Petallana, who scored 25 points. With FMQ’s main gunner Jimmy Santos having a hard time scoring against the defense of Al-Fidasca, Gilbert Giangan, Jeroen Azucena, and Fernando Perez led the FMQ attack as they notched 15, 18 and 27 points respectively.
In Division “B” finals, ACEC Consultants swept their rival Hempel Paints led by Allan De Castro, who bagged the MVP plum.
The ex-PBL and varsity standout edged out Dante Alipin of Hempel Paints and teammate Rolly Bisda De Castro for the award. De Castro hit 35 points in the final game.
Desert Jacks salvaged a third place finish by beating IPSA PTAC Team.
The awarding ceremony was held after the game of Al-Fidasca-FMQ Al-Qahtani game. Mohammad Zain Ho, tournament commissioner and PTAC Chairman, highlighted the success of the tournament. Tony Coloma, PTAC President, Dra. Pilar Licupa, the newly arrived school Principal and Ed Plandez, SGB Chairman also spoke.
Following is the recap of the awards night: Zandro Petallana of Al-Fidasca was named Division “C” MVP over Jimmy Santos of Al-Qahtani. Joining them in the Mythical Five are Richard Aenlle of KFMMC, Roy Benedicto of Al-Fidasca and Sonny Bautista of Al-Kuhaimi.
For Division “B” Mythical Five, De Castro was earlier named MVP leading a Mythical Five that included teammate Rolly Bisda and Dennis Bonilla from ACEC Consultants, joined by Dante Alipin of Hempel Paints and Abrantes of Desert Jacks.
The Sportsmanship Award was unanimously awarded to August Capili of Al-Fidasca (Division C) and Johnny Malate of Hempel Paints (Division B).
Special awards was given also to Mon Hernandez of Desert Jacks for making twelve 3-point shots in a single game. Likewise, Sonny Bautista of Al-Kuhaimi received a special award for scoring 54 points in a single game.
Allan de Castro was later awarded as MVP for the recently concluded All-Star Game (Division B) while the KFMMC top-gunner, Richard Aenlle was awarded the All-Star MVP for Division “C”.
Best Coach Award (Division B) went to Omar Asmadh of ACEC Consultants while Dado Ocampo of Al-Fidasca bagged the Best Coach Award for Division “C”.
