Mahmoud Gharib in twin kill, Compass, GTC beat rivals in OFBL-MJE cagefest

Mahmoud Gharib won a battle of newcomers against Bahra Cables 78-72 in the first game for both teams at the weekend in the 2nd OFBL and 1st MJE (Mahmod Jama Ibrahim Est.) Reinforced Basketball Tournament at the Timeout Sports Academy gymnasium on Television Street, Ghlail District on the outskirts of Jeddah.
OFBL again partnered with supporters Al-Zugbi Sports Tailoring, Art’s Cuisine, Pinoy Photographers Club Jeddah and Timeout Sports Academy for this tournament with MJE as the major sponsor.
Mahmoud Gharib enjoyed an early victory in the tournament as it outlasted Bahra Cables which showed toughness in defense and also made good plays in the first two quarters.
But in the second half the best player of the game Tudla took over for Mahmoud. He showed magnificent shooting touch from beyond the arc as well as from the inside to finish with 27 points.
Ali and Sidlacan supported Tudla on defense helping Gharib lead by as many as 17 points at the end of the third canto.
Bahra Cables rallied in the final period with Abatayo and Tagsip at the offensive end, Tudla maintained his composure to score three consecutive mid-range baskets and a three while Ali, Sidlacan and Bioca all shone in defense to defuse the Cables rally.
Mahmoud Gharib completed a weekend double, returning to the court and winning against Almarai 87-76. This time it was Armintia and Sidlacan that really played well for MG and Tudla was in the supporting cast. Regondola took charge in the first canto to score 11 points for Almarai while McTito and Lembornio supported him in rebounding and a bit in scoring but Armintia found his range to hit two booming threes while Sidlacan helped on defense especially against the big guys of Almarai. When the third quarter ended MG was up 58-49.
Almarai bounced back in the early minutes or the fourth quarter but the best player Armintia was all fired up and Sidlacan dominated in the paint to power MG to back-to-back victories.
Compass recovered from its opening day defeat to MJE by beating another newcomer Bemco 74-67.
In the first quarter the Cavite Connection, Monding brothers, showed tremendous game. They excelled on both ends of the court to end the quarter with a 20-9 lead but the veteran Castillo fought back for Compass team, scoring three consecutive baskets plus a foul to start a rally with the help of their best player Cartagena who also scored two consecutive shots in the paint as Compass took a 38-33 first half advantage.
In the third, Julia joined the fray for Compass. He made three consecutive steals and scored 6 early points on fastbreaks. Sarangay and Aquino held off the Monding brothers in the final period as Compass tasted its first win of the tournament.
Despite the absence of its MVP last season, defending champion GCT Terminal Port served notice of its designs in a 65-54 victory over new team Schindler.
Schindler boys were in the game only in the first canto with GCT not giving any chance to the opposing team the rest of the way.
Abad and Antonio each scored 20 points as GCT played well to underline its billing as the team to beat anew in the tournament. Carreon and Dorren combined for 13 points in support of the top GTC duo.