RIYADH, 7 February 2006 — Marawian rode the hot hands of Fil-Am Asmad Omar to crush FilEx 117-81 in a do-or-die game for both teams last Friday in the Arab News Cup basketball tournament at the Al-Yamamah Hotel court here.
Returning to action after his vacation, the ex-PBL standout and Philippine Christian University’s (PCU) captain ball for five years before coming to work in the Kingdom scored a game-high 38 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in sterling performance for Marawian.
The 36-point margin of victory not only qualified Marawian for the semifinal but gave Pangampong a free ride as well while slamming the door shut on Filex in the point system tiebreak. All three teams were tied on 2-1 win-loss card in the south bracket of the tournament sponsored by Arab News with Power Horse energy drink as co-sponsor.
A large Friday crowd of basketball enthusiasts mainly from Mindanao came to watch the game despite the sandstorm in Riyadh. They were not disappointed as they watched Omar, the most awaited import who missed three games during the first round, dish out his entertaining brand of basketball. After suffering their first and shocking loss from Pangampong the other week, Marawian entered the court in high spirits and determined to repair their wounded pride against equally respected FILEX.
Marawian, under team trainer Nasser Daromimbang, raced to a 33-7 on in the first quarter. Trailing far behind, FilEx tried to outscore the opponent but the effort lasted only in the early minutes into the second quarter which ended 63-34 in Marawian’s favor.
Manabilang, an excellent playmaker, contributed 32 points including four triples. Jamil chipped in with 22 points to go with 10 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists for Marawian.
Sabala and Arsin Tan gave it their best shot at FilEx with 27 and 19 points respectively. Lidasan contributed 16 points and grabbed 4 rebounds while, Ameril had 4 rebounds.
Meanwhile, tournament director Omar Mapandi and MBLR’s organizing committee held a meeting Sunday to discuss the semifinal schedule. As agreed, Marawian will meet Pangampong at 7:30 a.m. and Islamtoday.com will play Alnao at 1:30 p.m.
