RIYADH, 24 December 2005 — Marawians of Lanao showed their dominance of the game against Philippines National Bank (PNB) and scored the highest points so far 121-75 in the Arab News Cup — the 2nd Friendship Basketball Tournament held at the Al-Yamama Hotel Sport Complex.
The Mindanao Basketball League organized this tournament, which has attracted an unusually large crowd to the court.
Six-foot Omar Asmad, from the Eastern Province, scored 34 points, including 4 triples, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks, while Asnor Manabilang, the legendary Maranao player based in the Eastern Province, added 32 points and 13 assists.
“The perfect teamwork displayed by my boys has been the main factor of winning the match,” said Marawians coach Ferdie Usodan.
“We also played a good game, but failure to grab offensive and rebounds dragged us down,” said the PNB coach.
Meanwhile, Obaidah of Maguindanao defeated the Grandian with a clear-cut margin of 94-68 in the second game of the day. Tato Abbas Uda poured in 42 points for Obaidah, while Abdullah Domato added 18 points and Eldison Samson chipped in with 10 points.
Despite the good performance from Mexican Billy Abdulmalik of Grandian, who delivered 10 assists, 8 steals and 13 points, Grandian lost their first game. Abdulmalik also contributed 20 points while Minch Gao added 13 points for Grandian.
The 3rd game between Islam Today and Kapatiran dubbed as “the game of the towers” witnessed another huge crowd.
While the long-awaited performance of the Kapatiran squad has brought a warm welcome, it did not detract the team efforts of Abubacar, Asda and Adam that helped Islam Today settle the score at 102-76.
“Now this is a great opportunity when the Balik Islam brothers from Luzon and Visayas are playing with their brothers from Mindano,” said FCBR veteran referee Muhammad during the orientation session.
Moreover, alternating six footers Labaya and Ibrahim of Islam Today shared responsibilities in saving many baskets from the attacking Fagaura and Ubaran of Kapatiran. The first quarter finished with 26-22.
Osorio, the Kapatiran’s excellent ball handler and a consistent three-point maker, exhausted much effort, but the determined Islam Today made it impossible for him to turn the match in Kapatrian’s favor, and claimed their second consecutive win.
The fourth game between FilEx Cargo and Desert Lion was full of excitements despite the big effort of the last year’s MVP, Jun Muhammad.
FilEx controlled the game from start to finish to seal their second victory after scoring 105-77. B. Jeffrey Salac scored 30 points, including 5 triples, while Fared Badawi added 26 points. Aries Tan contributed with 17 points. Power Horse was also present to distribute energizer drinks to the players and the committee members.
The organizers thanked TFC for giving especial coverage to the community tournament.
