JEDDAH, 21 May 2004 — Yasser scored 14 points in the third quarter; poured another 14 points in the fourth quarter as Sijahi outfought K5-Corolla 73-63 in the ongoing 12th ALJ Invitational Basketball Tournament.

Yasser finished with a game high 46 points. His overpowering performance rubbed on to his teammates especially reed-thin Mukhtar, who scored 14 points, mostly on lead passes from Yasser himself.

The ploy worked wonders as Sijahi wiggled out of a 29-25 second quarter to lead 53-41 in the fateful third period. Except a few moments in the last quarter, Sijahi was on its way to win No. 1. Basketball aficionados were one in saying that Sijahi has improved a lot since last year when they were known to bungle "won" games. Sijahi, whose players are mostly made up of Saudi students, have found a way to preserve the victory against K5-Corolla. They clogged the middle with their big men, allowing only one shot for their rivals, while scoring on fast break plays.

K5-Corolla, on the other hand, relied on its mainstay Gadingan. He scored 21 points in a losing cause. His teammate Zandro added another 20 points.

Sheikh Mohamed Jameel, president of the ALJ Group of Companies, is the tournament's main sponsor. Lending a hand are following generous companies, Arab News, Samsung Electronics, Siemens Mobile Phone Tell Communication, Al-Quraishi Trading Company, Qatar Airways, Hussain Aoueini & Company Ltd., Dora Appliances, Power Horse, Giordano Fashions, Red Sea Paints, Boholano Investors Group, Nivea Cream, ABS-CBN, The Filipino Channel, Calson Management Services, Danon Al-Safi, Danube Hypermart, Gandour Confectioneries, Crowne Plaza Hotel, and SkyFreight Forwarders.

In other Friday games, Al-Arabi Décor tricked Zuhair Fayez 73-69; Saudi Food-Nestle blasted Saudia Catering 57-37, while Mega-Previa prevailed over Lexus-RX330 53-48. Thursday results, are as follows, Head Office-Land Cruiser smashed CSOC-Aventis 68-51, Arfan showed too much class against NASRPAC 99-63, and Al-Elsayi-Mitsubishi blasted Basamh-Goody 56-42.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) has acknowledged the money and goods sent by Jameel Sports Organization. In an e-mail sent by Gwen Pang of PNRC to Commissioner Celso Aquino, Pang appreciated the donation and sent with it a copy of a receipt of payment. The used clothing, totaling 9 cartons sent through SkyFreight, has also been accounted for. The goods are being inventoried at PNRC's warehouse in Manila.