JEDDAH, 29 August 2003 — Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla took time out from his tight schedule to grace the opening ceremony of the 11th ALJ Invitational Basketball Tournament at the ALJ basketball court.
This is the first time a top diplomat favored a tournament in the history of Filipino sporting events in Jeddah. His presence added glitz to what is already dubbed as a tournament with a “difference.”
Clad in a sport jacket, Guinomla became an instant hit among the crowd. He mingled with participating teams; posed for pictures among the spectators, and shared some moments with other community leaders.
Most of all he reminded the crowd to “go out....in full force and register at the Philippine consulate in Jeddah, embassy in Riyadh, and in IPSA in Alkhobar,” so that they can vote in the 2004 elections.
He also emphasized the importance of wholesome physical activity like basketball and said that the diplomatic post is encouraging such activities. “We encourage this type of activity, especially basketball, which is a wholesome activity, and a sport that OFW’s enjoy indulging and watching,” he said.
The 11th ALJ Invitational Basketball Tournament is different from other tournaments because it is not only presenting quality basketball competition but is raising funds for the Philippine National Red Cross. Simultaneous with the opening of the tournament was the launching of “Alay sa Philippine National Red Cross,” a joint project of Jameel Sports Organization and Overseas Filipino Sports Association.
Jimmy Beltran, executive director, Jameel Sports Organization, revealed the purpose of the project. “We dedicate this tournament to the Philippine National Red Cross...we realized that this organization reaches out to more less fortunate Filipinos, so the group decided to support the PNRC not only during this tournament but in the other tournaments we will organize. We would like to encourage other organizations to do the same.”
Beltran started the campaign with a contribution to the drop box and encouraged the officers of JSO to follow suit.
The drop box will be displayed in front of the table committee for the duration of the tournament so that players, spectators, or those who wants to contribute will have a chance.
A larger box, for used clothes and other items like used toys will be kept as well during the games so that those who want to donate in kind can do so. All donations will be sent to the PNRC after the tournament.
Aside from Ambassador Guinomla, other VIPs who attended the ceremony were Mohammed Jameel, president of ALJ Group of Companies, (main sponsor of the tournament), with Hisham Hamza of Philco Appliances (UTPC), Adnan Matbouli, Esaam Abbas, and Ehab Hamoud of Samsung Electronics United Matbouli Group, Idris Abdul Malik of Qatar Airways, M.A.K. Jeelani of Giordano Fashions, Presidential Banaag Awardee for 2000 Mohamed Bayoumi, Jet Gonzales and Edgar Garcia of ABS-CBN — The Filipino Channel, Hisato Hamada of Aoueini & Company, Chito Onglatco of Red Sea Paints, Emy de Guzman of Sky Freight Forwarders, and Danny Quiambao of Sigma Paints.
Jeddah’s premiere sportscaster Jojo Ligan, chairman of the Overseas Filipino Sports Organization (OFSA) anchored the ceremony.
The program included the parade of participating teams and its muses, special song and dance numbers, and an exhibition game between King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital and ALJ Rehab.
The participating teams in this year’s tournament are ALJ Hospital, CSOC-CPD, Head Office, MTTS-UNIPIPE, NASRPAK, PCC-Denso, SAPTCO, and SJAHI in the Inter-Division Category. The Inter-Company Bonafide group has Al-Jazirah Vehicles, Al-Jedaani Hospital, Danube-Snickers, Fujitec S.A. Ltd., Sharbatly Corporation, Zuhair Fayez Partnership, and Marhaba. Entries in the Inter-Company Non-Rated category are Al-Hamrani United (Nissan), Ambassador, Baituna, Dr. Bakshsh Hospital, Gentec Telecom, Med Net Gulf, and Tokyo Marine & Fire Insurance.
Adjudged fairest among the muses were Kristine Javier of Gentec Telecom, Catherine Kay Salas of Al-Jazirah Vehicles, and Marina Untalan of ALJ Head Office. The muses received gift packs from Samsung Electronics, TFC, Nivea, and Qatar Airways.
The teams that stood out, among the rest, when it came to uniform were Gentec Telecom, Sharbatly Team and ALJ Head Office. The winning teams all received handsome trophies.
In the exhibition game, King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, behind the court generalship of Sierra and the hot hands of Pinlac, beat ALJ Hospital 92-78.
In first game of the Inter-Company Non-Rated Division, Gentec Telecom showed too much class in thrashing Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance 93-71. Mayo of Gentec showed all-around brilliance as he scored 20 points, towing three other teammates (Villanueva (16 points), Unas (13 points), and Batarao (10 points) in double figures.
Games of the 11th ALJ Invitational Basketball Tournament are held every Thursday and Friday. Keeping the games in order are the referees of Basketball Officials Group (BOG).
