In 2009 on the same Ahmed Kaki Sports Complex (Orca) basketball court Jeddah reached the final by taking down Riyadh only to get badly beaten by a Dammam side represented by powerhouse Fahd Alireza Engineering Consultants (FAEC) in the championship clash.
On Friday night, the trophy again left town when Riyadh’s Laguna Lakers Cargo team brought down gritty Friendster 100-81 before an overflow crowd that gathered four-deep around the Kaki court on Friday night.
The final game in the WPBL Philippine Independence Day Cup regional invitational basketball tournament was set the night before when Cris Melebo’s Friendster played an incredible game to stun powerhouse Lucky Me N-Rich Instant Mami with Malungay (Eastern Province) 101-92 and Dante’s Layosa’s Lakers disposed of Qatar Airways-Yanbu All Star 86-63.
The unexpected result so intrigued the nonbelievers they came out in droves the next day to see if Jeddah could hurdle the mighty Riyadh and finally win as the host. The gulf still existed between Riyadh and Jeddah but if anything the Friendsters’ showing against Tim Cortez’s side Thursday night rallied support around the Jeddah squad widely perceived here as not competitive enough to contend for a regional crown.
“Nobody believed and nobody loved us. A lot of people supported other teams and got the shock of their lives,” said Melebo after the game against Lucky Me. Against the much taller Lucky Me Friendster, coached by Amang Catador and Alain Ng, executed well as a team and had an answer each time the visitors threatened.
Aries Macaspac led the Jeddah charge with 22 points, draining threes like they were guided missiles. Young JR Piedra banged bodies against his heftier opponents and finished with 18 points while John Rebulado added 11 for Friendster.
Omar Asmad reinjured his groin but not after scoring 22 points at the helm of Lucky Me while Joel Dualan and Rochiel Cureg each scored 15 points. Allan De Castro, who along with Asmad was a staple part of the delegation from the Eastern Province, could only muster 6 points.
James Smith, a do-it-all player that he is, scored 16 points, had a mind-boggling 25 rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals and along with Roel Asay (20 points) and Edward Pining (14 points) ensured a final spot for Riyadh.
Riyadh’s Sherwin Garcia proved a big headache for Jeddah in the final game, getting away with 25 points on runners from the baseline and shots from the perimeter. Smith had another good scoring night with 24 points as did Asay with 14 while Custodio added 11.
After the sides ended the first half 46-36 to Riyadh Yoyong Akmad energized the hosts with three straight baskets in an 8-3 tear that narrowed the gap to five at 49-44.
With Garcia and Smith scoring almost at will Riyadh enjoyed an 11-point lead at 55-44 halfway in the third period. Coached by Lito Villanueva, the Lakers sustained the momentum and Jeddah could only close in at 63-61 as it lost its shooting touch and the most glaring was that of Macaspac who missed about four critical three-pointers.
Jeddah’s collective spirits were crushed when Custodio, Jun Cortez, Smith and Asay hit a fiery 13-3 windup that set the score to what it was in the end from 87-78 with 2:33 to play.
Asay, a forward, was named MVP and led members of the mythical five selection that included Akmad and Cortez (Best Guards), Macaspac (Best Forward) and Smith (Best Center).
Earlier, Lucky Me defeated Qatar Airways 82-77 in the game for third and fourth.
The awards ceremony took place after the final game. WPBL President Omar “Joemar” Baganian presented the prizes along with the group’s advisers Hamdan Al-Harithy and Mohamed Bayoumi. Labor Atttache Vicente Cabe of Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Jeddah (POLO-Jeddah) attended the tournament opening on Thursday.
