Silencer 2 moved within a win of a twice-to-beat advantage, Toyota-Sequoia guaranteed itself of a top two seed for the semifinals and Jeddah United gained the upper hand in the chase for two championship berths in the centerpiece Inter-Commercial Open Rated during the eventful Week 12 in the 2nd Nokia-Asha and 35th FBA season basketball tournament at the Sheraton Jeddah Hotel Sport Complex court.

Silencer 2 won its sixth straight victory in Inter-Company Bonafide Division B but not without a scare from New Breed Al-Shaya which stayed with its rival all game long until eventual Best Player of the game Cariño delivered the winner in an 82-80 thriller for Silencer in the penultimate game Friday that was played under a looming threat of a severe sandstorm.

Earlier Friday, Jimmy Abdullah Beltran’s Sequoia overcame an early 10-point deficit and went on to score a 78-73 victory, as the trio of Denden Amir, Eric Mabarit and Montano Dela Cruz buckled down to work starting in the third quarter to repulse a fighting Pepsi squad of Allan Zorilla.

The win put Sequoia, coached by Mimi Martin, at 5-1 in the Inter-Company Bonafide A, while Pepsi dropped to 3-2 half a game behind Giordano-Juffali (4-2), a 119-111 winner over Nesma Holding in the fifth game Thursday.

In the placings for the knockout round Sequoia is certain to lock up No. 2 with a chance at No. 1 if dangerous Silencer 1, whose three losses in four games are close shaves, were to beat KIA Motors (4-1) in their match Thursday. A victory would create a Sequoia-KIA two-way tie but the team of Renato Sacramento and Atong Blanco gets the No. 1 by virtue of the winner over the other rule. The No. 3 and No. 4 are a toss-up between Giordano and Pepsi, which still has a game left in its schedule.

After trailing at 17-7 Sequoia worked its way back in the game. They were up by eight 70-62 early in the fourth quarter only for Pepsi to tie at 72 going into the last two minutes on a drive by guard Destresa. Malik Ampuan split his free throws off a foul by Defensor before a put-back basket by Amir gave Sequoia a 75-72 lead, time down to 1:13.

A Sequoia defensive stop led to a fastbreak by Dela Cruz who got away with a two-handed push shot with 47 ticks left and Beltran’s team preserved the win when Fuentes missed foul shots on the other end and Amir grabbed the defensive round while getting a foul on the play. Amir then made one free throw to set the final count 78-73.

Amir, named Best Player of the game, finished with 18 points, Dela Cruz scored 15 and Mabarit tallied 14 points. Shifty guard Nemitz Dangao scored 21 points for Pepsi but was limited to only two points in the fourth quarter after being shackled by the Sequoia defense. Big man Glen Ventanilla added 18 points for Pepsi.

Avengers battled back from 13 points down but threw away their chances at victory because of bad decisions and turnovers at crunch time.

Best Player Ramsi top-scored with 16 points, 10 of them in the payoff period, as Jeddah United improved to 3-1 in the team standings and ahead of everyone else in the four-team division.

Man mountain Kaidar led Avengers with 22 points, giving his team the lead for the first time at 46-44 on a dunk.

Francis Magat’s Uncle Majid Rice & Toppings brought upset-conscious Sheraton back to earth by winning their match 79-79 during the nightcap Friday. The win tied Uncle Majid with Saudia Catering at 4-1 in the Inter-Hotel and Restaurant Division but had to settle for No. 2 seed in the semifinals having lost by default to SG which took No. 1.

The win tied Uncle Majid with Saudia Catering at 4-1 in the Inter-Hotel and Restaurant Division.

Intrepid, getting 23 points from Best Player Flores and 14 points from Jerry, rumbled to its fifth straight victory, 74-52 over Ford Al Jazeera Motors in the Inter-Company B.

Elsewhere, Friendster beat Tarek Rehal 79-53 (Inter-Commercial Open Non-Rated), Saudi Diyar edged Gulf Taleed 66-62 (Inter-Company C), and Al-Muhaidib downed Al-Rabea Faisal Park 68-62 (Inter-Commecial Open Non-Rated).