FIBA Basketball
KSA - Kudu Restaurant ended its losing
DAMMAM (EPBL) – Kudu Restaurant ended its losing run with a lopsided 89-68 win in the fourth week of elimination round of the Eastern Province Basketball League’s (EPBL) 19th Open Conference at the jam-packed Al Ettifaq Sports Club here
DAMMAM (EPBL) – Kudu Restaurant ended its losing run with a lopsided 89-68 win in the fourth week of elimination round of the Eastern Province Basketball League’s (EPBL) 19th Open Conference at the jam-packed Al Ettifaq Sports Club here.
With Jojo Custodio, Braian Datu and Julius Morales at the firing end, the Restaurateurs repulsed the all Saudi squad’s repeated rallies in the final quarter and gave head coach Orly Casimiro something to celebrate on his repatriation. “Although we struggled a bit, I’m glad we pulled it through. They’re still adjusting to my system”, said Casimiro.
Despite the win, Casimiro said his players still need more seasoning. “We’re still lacking maturity.
But I’m confident that with the help of my coaching staff and supporters, we can bring their game to a higher level.” Kudu’s lack of maturity was evident late in the game when the Riyadh based-dribblers almost squandered a 13-point lead. Thanks to the torrid outside shooting of Raffy Semilla, Jackson Hatin and Ramy Estoye and the strong inside plays of the 6-foot-3 Vic Dizo and Leonard Lim, the Kudu five managed to hang on and spoil the 28-point performance of Saudi National team member, Fahad Ali.
In what could be his finest game so far, the lanky power forward did almost everything on the court, scoring, rebounding and hustling. But his one-man show in the fourth, where he scored 10 points, went down the drain. He also grabbed 10 rebounds in 31 minutes of action.
Datu and Custodio finished with 18 points each while Morales and Semilla also had identical 11 points in a mighty show of force.
The boys of Mustafha Hamadeh and Orly Casimiro appeared headed for a runaway win after Semilla knocked in his first triple that gave them a 73-55 lead early in the fourth.
The guys of former Saudi Arabian national team coach Ali M. Zahrani , however, relied heavily on the hot hands of Abdulrahman Kardi, Fahad Idrees and Faisal Al Somali.
But the rejuvenated Kudu five rose to the occasion again, hitting their strides to finally barge into the win column.
In the inter-company bonafide category, Panda Azizia Markets outscored the come-backing Jarir Bookstore, 70-56 win.
Lanky forward Ruel Carpio led Panda’s attack with his gravity defying shots scoring a game high 22 points, while teammates Macloy Osio and Rahmuddin Macasampen contributed 14 and 16 points respectively.
The favored Panda squad dictated the tempo throughout and showed no mercy even as Jarir applied tenacious defense and Rolly Hadloc’s lane penetrations broke Panda’s third quarter momentum. Hadloc led Jarir with 21 points.
Jarir continued its game pattern in the final period with Bong Canoy, Ryan Marteliano and Marvin Abaco scoring 19, 13, and 17 points, but fell short in the crucial moments when prized coach Hassan Kasaey fielded his secret weapons in Joseph Bautista, Marvin Catoto, Frank Gapasin and Raymond Abad who provided inside muscles to secure the easy victory.
In Division C, Phuket Restaurant overcame a slow start to beat Bigen Prominous, 94-82, and pick up their first win in two outings.
Despite their sluggish start, the Restaurateurs were able to keep their composure and were hardly challenged towards the end of the game.
Phuket banked on Reynan Guinoo’s 25-point explosion, Erwin Mallari’s pounding of the boards, Willy Solano’s rock solid defense and Norly Briones’ timely plays to overpower the pesky Bigen five.
“I am happy and satisfied with the boys’ showing in this particular match. They have been playing consistently since Day 1 despite minor setbacks from within the team”, Thai manager Kwanchai Keekhongderm was quoted as saying.
“Most of my players hardly attend their practices due to schedule constraints. Most of them are working till wee hours in the morning, seven days a week. But despite all that, they were able to pull off a cohesive team performance”, added Kwanchai.
Other game results, SFCCL – Jubail outmatched Haier Rockets, 88-66, Al Hoty dumped Rezayat Bulldogs, 84-75,while Al Fallak thrashed Saudi Paper Company, 66-62.
Kim G. Cortez
FIBA correspondent in Saudi Arabia
With Jojo Custodio, Braian Datu and Julius Morales at the firing end, the Restaurateurs repulsed the all Saudi squad’s repeated rallies in the final quarter and gave head coach Orly Casimiro something to celebrate on his repatriation. “Although we struggled a bit, I’m glad we pulled it through. They’re still adjusting to my system”, said Casimiro.
Despite the win, Casimiro said his players still need more seasoning. “We’re still lacking maturity.
But I’m confident that with the help of my coaching staff and supporters, we can bring their game to a higher level.” Kudu’s lack of maturity was evident late in the game when the Riyadh based-dribblers almost squandered a 13-point lead. Thanks to the torrid outside shooting of Raffy Semilla, Jackson Hatin and Ramy Estoye and the strong inside plays of the 6-foot-3 Vic Dizo and Leonard Lim, the Kudu five managed to hang on and spoil the 28-point performance of Saudi National team member, Fahad Ali.
In what could be his finest game so far, the lanky power forward did almost everything on the court, scoring, rebounding and hustling. But his one-man show in the fourth, where he scored 10 points, went down the drain. He also grabbed 10 rebounds in 31 minutes of action.
Datu and Custodio finished with 18 points each while Morales and Semilla also had identical 11 points in a mighty show of force.
The boys of Mustafha Hamadeh and Orly Casimiro appeared headed for a runaway win after Semilla knocked in his first triple that gave them a 73-55 lead early in the fourth.
The guys of former Saudi Arabian national team coach Ali M. Zahrani , however, relied heavily on the hot hands of Abdulrahman Kardi, Fahad Idrees and Faisal Al Somali.
But the rejuvenated Kudu five rose to the occasion again, hitting their strides to finally barge into the win column.
In the inter-company bonafide category, Panda Azizia Markets outscored the come-backing Jarir Bookstore, 70-56 win.
Lanky forward Ruel Carpio led Panda’s attack with his gravity defying shots scoring a game high 22 points, while teammates Macloy Osio and Rahmuddin Macasampen contributed 14 and 16 points respectively.
The favored Panda squad dictated the tempo throughout and showed no mercy even as Jarir applied tenacious defense and Rolly Hadloc’s lane penetrations broke Panda’s third quarter momentum. Hadloc led Jarir with 21 points.
Jarir continued its game pattern in the final period with Bong Canoy, Ryan Marteliano and Marvin Abaco scoring 19, 13, and 17 points, but fell short in the crucial moments when prized coach Hassan Kasaey fielded his secret weapons in Joseph Bautista, Marvin Catoto, Frank Gapasin and Raymond Abad who provided inside muscles to secure the easy victory.
In Division C, Phuket Restaurant overcame a slow start to beat Bigen Prominous, 94-82, and pick up their first win in two outings.
Despite their sluggish start, the Restaurateurs were able to keep their composure and were hardly challenged towards the end of the game.
Phuket banked on Reynan Guinoo’s 25-point explosion, Erwin Mallari’s pounding of the boards, Willy Solano’s rock solid defense and Norly Briones’ timely plays to overpower the pesky Bigen five.
“I am happy and satisfied with the boys’ showing in this particular match. They have been playing consistently since Day 1 despite minor setbacks from within the team”, Thai manager Kwanchai Keekhongderm was quoted as saying.
“Most of my players hardly attend their practices due to schedule constraints. Most of them are working till wee hours in the morning, seven days a week. But despite all that, they were able to pull off a cohesive team performance”, added Kwanchai.
Other game results, SFCCL – Jubail outmatched Haier Rockets, 88-66, Al Hoty dumped Rezayat Bulldogs, 84-75,while Al Fallak thrashed Saudi Paper Company, 66-62.
Kim G. Cortez
FIBA correspondent in Saudi Arabia