JEDDAH: Freyssinet broke out of a three-way tie for the Category D Pool 2 lead following an emphatic 72-50 victory over the Warriors as lopsided victories ruled the Week 8 hostilities in the FBA (Filipino Basketball Association) 37th Season at the Sheraton Jeddah Hotel Sport Complex basketball court here.

To set the tone of the week, UDH bucked a slow start and, with Alidio, Nonoy Soliveres and Quijano scoring 22, 15 and 13 points respectively Thursday, whipped Jeddah Hilton 72-62 to end a two-game losing streak in Category D Pool 1 while handing Hilton its third loss in four games.

Quijano, scoreless in the first quarter where UDH was limited to 14 points against Jeddah Hilton’s 23, was named Best Player of the game. He made 10 points of his total output in the fourth quarter.

Ford Al Jazirah evened its record at 2-2 in Category C , crushing Dbarkadz Pilipinas 82-64 in the second game Thursday where Best Player Padayao, Oonah and Mateo were the leading scorers for the winners on 17, 13 and 12 points in that order. Navarro and Mendoza led Dbarkadz on 19 and 14 points.

Also in 8-team Category C, Pinoy Expatriate rebounded from a narrow 84-83 defeat by Dirat Al Arous in their debut game when they stopped Twitch Mobile 65-60 in the third game Friday.

Gino Cilot knocked in eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter to become the Best Player while helping the Expatriates win a close battle against Twitch Mobile which went down to its third straight defeat. Reyes and Alvin Pacaigue added 16 and 9 points for Expatriates.

UMA (Universal Motors Agencies) handed Alshaya Lions of Erwin Carpena their first defeat in three games, limiting them to 9 points while hitting for 23 in the first quarter for a lopsided 91-71 triumph in the nightcap Thursday.

The victory pulled UMA up to second place at 3-1 behind unbeaten Nexus 2 in Category D Pool 3. Spearheading UMA were Best Player Suguitan 29, Venzon 19 and Sicangco 16 points. Rod Eusebio as usual carried the fight for the Lions to no avail with 17 points, while Yuan and Daren each had 11 points.

Sharbatly Fruits hammered out a 67-60 win over Takbo Unlimited in a clash of D Pool 3 bottom teams. Sharbatly tasted its first win after three successive defeats while Takbo absorbed its third loss in a row.

Ordonio, Vitangcor and Ali led the Sharbatly with 27, 14 and 10 points. For Takbo, Cube had 17 points to go with 12 each for Catador and Pagunsan.

Starting the day tied with SITML and Aramex on identical 2-1 card, Freyssinet pulled away in the third quarter where it scored 21 points to get the victory that gave it solo lead in D Pool 2 on 3-1. Best Player Jagna top-socred for Freyssinet on 23 points, while Castillo and Dollero added 17 and 11.

SITML dropped to 2-2 when it lost the game against Olive-Hanco 75-72 in the nightcap Friday.

Naguit was the top scorer with 27 points for Olive Hanco but it was Mitch that took Best Players honors with 18 points. Reasonable added 12 points for Hanco.

FBA CEO and president Edgar Mendoza and Commissioner Noel Miguel run the show with support from the following: Admin/PR Director Jerry P. Lagrimas, Field Operations Director Robert Jose, Finance Director Jinkee Mendoza, Finance Admin Asst. Yuan Bondoc, and committee members Jimmy Nicdao, Mario delos Santos and Jessie Sales. Rodolfo “Boy” Cornejo and Paul Antiporda are the advisers, Sheraton Jeddah Hotel Security Force is in charge of the peace and security while JOG (Jeddah Officiating Group) handles the tournament officiating.

The tournament is sponsored by Fawri Money Transfer Services, Cebu Pacific and Manila Cuisine with support from Kabalikat Civicom KSA Chapter.