JEDDAH, 1 September 2005 — Jolo Valiant toppled Heinz ABC from the ranks of the unbeaten and Micoop Nunungan scored a vital victory in the last weekend’s action in the 1st Seiko-Honda and 2nd UMEA-WPBL Tournament at the Al Kaki Sports Complex basketball court here.
Jojo Indal shot a topscoring 21 points, mostly on low post plays, and Teddy added 14 to lead Jolo Valiant to a 77-61victory in a man-sized upset in Thursday’s hostilities.
The result left top seeded Jolo and Heinz tied on 3-1 win-loss record in the Inter-Maguindanaoan C Division. With two games left on their schedule, both teams are expected to advance into the semifinals.
Palarong Pambansa veteran Sarip and Nader made the big plays in the stretch as Micoop came from behind to beat Axe-Unilever 76-69 in the Inter-Commercial Reinforced A Division.
The burly Sarip completed a three-point play and hit a drive in the lanes in a five-point flurry with a little over a minute left that eased pressure off Micoop, who also caught the breaks when Axe-Unilever lapsed into mistakes in a tense Friday contest.
Micoop were made to earn the victory, wiping out a seven-point deficit to end the third quarter level with Axe-Unilever at 53-53. The first quarter ended with Axe-Unilever ahead at 21-13.
Sarip finished with 27 points, while the three-point specialist Nader added 16 for Micoop who put the chains on Coronejo midway in the last period. Coronejo made 12 points and Pascual 14 for Axe.
Earlier Friday, CGS Toyota edged out Universal Motors 75-74 in a Inter-Commercial Mixed B-1 Division thriller.
It was the fourth straight win for Jimmy Beltran’s Toyota squad who relied on split free throws by Abaginto in the last 12 seconds to escape with the victory.
Fuddruckers, another strong team who are tipped to contest the B-1 supremacy with Toyota, picked up their third straight win by beating Zuhair Fayez 97-88.
Rasaku downed NJ Alraya 75-69 and Diwan Paramount beat M-Dizers in a pair of Inter-Commercial Bonafide Mixed B-2 games, while Zambasulta defeated Faisaliyah 50-45 in another C Division game.
The four-division 26-team tournament is sponsored by Abdullah Hashim Co. Ltd., distributors of Honda and Al Husseini and Al Yahya Trading Co. (Seiko). The co-sponsors are WRJ Cargo Forwarders, Fuddruckers Restaurant, Al Masael Electronics (Installment 4 Kabayan) and Al Haddaf Sports Wear, The Filipino Channel, Power Horse energy drink and Arab News.
Games today:
5:30 p.m. Rasaku Santan vs Diwan Paramount, 7 p.m. Socsargen vs. Zambasulta, 8:30 p.m. Fuddruckers vs. Birks, 10 p.m. Klasmeyts vs. Zuhair Fayez
Games tomorrow:
5:30 p.m. Sibuco vs. Faisaliyah, 7 p.m. Panda vs NJ-Raya, 8:30 p.m. Sadafco vs. ACS Cargo, 10 p.m. KFSH vs. Samba Speedcash.
