RIYADH: Sale Company, SMS-Telco, Saudi Rocks and Marriott Riyadh Hotel led the semifinal round qualifiers in the 22nd Annual Riyadh Inter-Hotels and Part 2 of the 15th Season Basketball Fever in Riyadh at the Sheraton Riyadh Hotel & Towers rubberized basketball court here.
League chairman Carlos D. Ollero announced the list of teams to advance after the 8th week of actions which included Cotabato of Nasser and Noura Ponponan, Kudu Corporation of Orly Casimero and Wowie Din and IKEA of Tony Santos and Dodong Flores which all joined Sale Company of Andre Soriano, Sinawe Cali Mamao & Noel David in the 6 feet & below category.
With SMS-Telco of Joemar Talaban, Rico Petil and Cef Cadahing and Saudi Rocks of Rommel Jacinto and Aref Aldaba in the Inter-Company Bonafide B category are SABB of Jun Pacheco, Haif Company of Cesar Vales, BMTC of Noel Domingo and Joemani Bambilla and Banque Saudi Fransi of Faisal F. Radwan & Alex Manalang.
Marriott Riyadh Hotel of Felias Batica and Loth Lomibao will be reunited with Faisaliah Giants of Rey Hagoriles and Gerry Donato, Sheraton Hotel of Bilal Fawaz, Jess Lumanog & Rene Delos Reyes and Radisson Blu of Ali Al-Qarni, Carlos Carreon and Roman Paparo in the Inter-Hotel category.
The last games of the eliminations saw the determined Haif Company beat IPA-ELC 55-44 in the Inter-Company Bonafide B Category. Haif led all the way as it ensured its place in the semifinals.
In the 6 feet & below category, Kudu nailed a semis slot by stopping IKEA team in a 7-deadlock battle 82-80.
Sale Company underlined its dominance over Cotabato Hunters to win by 85-79.
The Hunters were without coach Nasser Ponponan for two quarters paving the way for Sale anchored by Sherwin Garcia, James Smith, Paulo Malonzo, Jaime Hernandez and Victor Quintal to lead by 21 points at the end of the first half 60-39.
Cotabato managed to trim the lead to 12 at 72-60 in the third quarter but that was just about it as Sale played an effective game management.
In the Inter-Hotel Category, InterCon cagers failed to duplicate their last victory while Four Seasons Hotel’s bid to avoid a winless tournament ended when they fell one after the other against the strong team Marriott Riyadh by 72-57 and 100-82.
Later in the week, InterCon of Neo Egamino scored its second victory at the expense of Four Seasons Hotel of Felix Tissera, 59-55.
The tournament, which is for the benefit of the children of UNICEF, enjoys the generous support of Stuart G. Birkwood, General Manager of Sheraton Riyadh Hotel & Towers. Western Union Money Transfer is the sponsor of this tournament.
Selected scores:
Marriott Hotel (100) J. dela Cruz 32, C. Salman 27, B. Lising 18, R. Pineda 9, L. Dela Rama 6, E. Manansala 5, T. Romero 3
Four Seasons Hotel (82) N. Obrar 31, T. Ocampo 12, J. Gonzales 11, M. Balderol 10, C. Cube 9, B. Estrella 6, E. Romano 3.
Refs: Mohamad Villamena, Raul Aragon Haif Company (55) D. Manalaysay 15, J. Melan 10, A. Caballero 9, F. Nieva 5, JR. Vales 5, J. Jusay 4, O. Macalaba 3, O. Hernandez 2, R. Figuracion 2
IPA-ELC (44) U. Bandian 13, S. Dasalla 12, N. Manuel 6, N. Dolindo 5, L. Abenir 4, J. Guina 2, A. Arellano 2.
Kudu (82) J. Morelles 17, C. Toledo 17, J. Sagun 13, J. Cortez 10, J. Morales 8, A. Herrera 8, K. Din 4, F. Pasig 3, J. Ferrer 2
IKEA (80) J.C. Garcia 22, M. Pining 14, J. Delfín 12, L. Gonzales 8, P. Aaron 7, I. Gobres 5, C. Hall 5, C. Asis 3, N. Brosula 2, N. Lauriaga 2
Refs: Mohamad Villamena, Nestor Carlos
