RIYADH, 17 February 2006 — The unstoppable Islamtoday.com once again defeated Alnao 87-83 in their semifinal round encounter in Arab News Cup basketball tournament at the Yamama court on Friday.
Rookie sensation Simon Asdah was the leading scorer for Islamtoday.com with 25 points to go with three assists and five rebounds, while Edwin Labaya added 17 points and five rebounds. The arrival of point guard Andi Talampas, who made 16 points and 6 assists, added muscle to the strong lineup of Islamtoday.com. Islamtoday.com had the luxury of shuffling their 10-man rotation.
Alnao were well-prepared for their second encounter with Islamtoday.com, even without the presence of their center Renato Moussa. Raisuli “Orak” Sarip and three-point specialist Bari Alinader came to Riyadh all the way from Jeddah to reinforce Alnao. These guys faced tough time in coming to Riyadh arriving at 12 noon on Friday after a 14-hour by bus journey due to the non-availability of air ticket.
“Definitely having played last night in Jeddah and coming here without enough rest is too much for us” said Orak Sarip.
Orak and Bari’s reputation as shooters were not known to Islamtoday.com until they started firing 3-point shots and managed a total of 5 triples between them in the first half. However, Islamtoday.com coach Jun Pacheco kept yelling his guys to focus on defense and don’t give opportunity for 3-point shots. “We will take our defense to the maximum” according to Islamtoday.com team manager Deen Mohammad.
Alnao was expecting their 3-point bombs could be their key to victory against Islamtoday.com, but it didn’t work in the face of a man-to-man defense from the enemy’s big men. Alnao playmaker Ja’afar Laguindab fired back to back triples with less than 2 minutes left to play and pared down their deficit to 6 points. But Alnao were in foul trouble and this gave Islamtoday.com an opportunity to hit game-winning free throws.
The scores:
Islamtoday.com (87) — Asdah 25, Labaya 17,Andi 16, Indasan 8, Abubakr 7, Ibno 5, Yousuf 2, Biugos 2, Adam 2, Pabona 2.
Alnao (83) — Alinader 26, Sarip 17, Laguindab 15, Marohom 15, Barambangan 6,Tadile 2, Landas 2.
