FIBA Basketball
KSA - Saudi Steel Pipe claim 3rd IBL inter-company crown
AL KHOBAR (IBL) - Most Valuable Player Awardee Ruel Caseres poured in 28 points to lead the Saudi Steel Pipe of Dammam to a 76-72 win over the Saad Animo to bag the 3rd IBL crown in the inter-company category of Ipsa Basketball League
AL KHOBAR (IBL) - Most Valuable Player Awardee Ruel Caseres poured in 28 points to lead the Saudi Steel Pipe of Dammam to a 76-72 win over the Saad Animo to bag the 3rd IBL crown in the inter-company category of Ipsa Basketball League (IBL) at the International Philippine School in Al Khobar indoor gym here.
Both teams showed sterling performance from the onset of the game. The Saad Animo tiny led in the first and second canto that recorded 20-18 and 39-38 respectively.
Best Forward awardee and Mythical Five member Marjun Pelicano scored 8 points in first and final quarter of his 21 points while teammates Bobby Plarisan and Lecuano Asim added 12 and 14 points respectively.
Coach Peter Bansag masterfully planned the remaining two quarters assault to tame the offensive thrust of Saad Amino squad.
"Obviously, we felt relieved when their three starters (Dela Pena, Phillip Cabarlles and Benjie Acoba) fouled out at crunch time. They are a big treat from outside and they almost killed us. Its short of saying they gave us this win (unknowingly) in a silver platter", said the smiling SSP prized coach Bansag.
The Pipe Makers enhanced their hopes to claim the championship crown when Saad's ace gunner and Mythical Five Awardee Anton Dela Pena and wingman Benjie Acoba graduated in the dying seconds of the final canto.
Saad's Anton Dela Pena ended his prolific performance on a heartbreaking note after the high-leaping guard tied the ball with his first triple, 66all with 3:44 remaining in a highly physical match that recorded 9 deadlock and 13 lead changes, but Dela Pena muffed three desperate drives in the dying minutes succumbing to fatigue and SSP's tight interior defense.
Dela Pena's second opportunity came on a forced drive amid the outstretch arms of three Pipemakers with 1:29 seconds left, which didn't even hit the rim. In a mad scramble for the loose ball, the boys of Ramon Lachica got another chance when Dela Pena released his second triple, 72-72 with 39 second left.
With no timeout left and everybody inside the jam-packed Ipsa indoor gym, on their feet, the tightly guarded Dela Pena received the inbound pass, left his man on a pick as he dribbled closer to the hoop and made a prayerful attempt at the basket defying the taller SSP's frontlines. It was an eternity of a bank shot as the ball hit the board, clanged the iron and danced around the rim before deciding to go out. A split second tip-in by Mythical Member Marvin Vibar also missed at the buzzer.
"SSP earned this win,'' Saad coach Ramon Lachica said. "They were aggressive and attacked our paint. We talked about keys -- rebounding, scoring, assists. The things we needed to do, we didn't do. This is not the true Saad Animo team yet. We'll have to revamp our roster and we promise to beat them next time.''
The game was rough throughout, but SSP patiently rallied on their signature full court pressed. As expected, ace playmaker Caseres zeroed in through the painted area with his off-balance and acrobatic shots making every point counted with fans cheering.
"Our hardship and long preparations paid-off" said by the beaming team manager Edgar Del Rosario. "We owe it to SSP management for their support and always coming in full force to see us play." Indeed, high morale is very evident on the SSP squad as they helped their team stayed alive throughout.
SSP's Caseres and Pelicano joined Dela Pena and Vibar from Saad while Erwin Solomon of Sofcon complete the magic mythical five. Best Coach plum was awarded to Peter Bansag of SSP.
The tournament was organized by 3rd IPSA Basketball League (IBL) jointly sponsored by Qatar Airways, Saudi Steel Pipes Co., Saudi Formaldehyde Chemical Co. Ltd. (SFCCL), Arabian Consulting Engineering Centre (ACEC), Zahid Tractors, Arabian CBI, Al-Qahtani Pipe Coating Terminal Co., Dhahran Al-Arabi Aluminium Co., Lummus Alireza Ltd. Co., Hempel Paints Saudi Arabia, Al-Mutawa Samyong Co., El-Ajou Group, Tal Aramex, Industrial Marketing Co. Al-Othman (IMCO).
Both teams showed sterling performance from the onset of the game. The Saad Animo tiny led in the first and second canto that recorded 20-18 and 39-38 respectively.
Best Forward awardee and Mythical Five member Marjun Pelicano scored 8 points in first and final quarter of his 21 points while teammates Bobby Plarisan and Lecuano Asim added 12 and 14 points respectively.
Coach Peter Bansag masterfully planned the remaining two quarters assault to tame the offensive thrust of Saad Amino squad.
"Obviously, we felt relieved when their three starters (Dela Pena, Phillip Cabarlles and Benjie Acoba) fouled out at crunch time. They are a big treat from outside and they almost killed us. Its short of saying they gave us this win (unknowingly) in a silver platter", said the smiling SSP prized coach Bansag.
The Pipe Makers enhanced their hopes to claim the championship crown when Saad's ace gunner and Mythical Five Awardee Anton Dela Pena and wingman Benjie Acoba graduated in the dying seconds of the final canto.
Saad's Anton Dela Pena ended his prolific performance on a heartbreaking note after the high-leaping guard tied the ball with his first triple, 66all with 3:44 remaining in a highly physical match that recorded 9 deadlock and 13 lead changes, but Dela Pena muffed three desperate drives in the dying minutes succumbing to fatigue and SSP's tight interior defense.
Dela Pena's second opportunity came on a forced drive amid the outstretch arms of three Pipemakers with 1:29 seconds left, which didn't even hit the rim. In a mad scramble for the loose ball, the boys of Ramon Lachica got another chance when Dela Pena released his second triple, 72-72 with 39 second left.
With no timeout left and everybody inside the jam-packed Ipsa indoor gym, on their feet, the tightly guarded Dela Pena received the inbound pass, left his man on a pick as he dribbled closer to the hoop and made a prayerful attempt at the basket defying the taller SSP's frontlines. It was an eternity of a bank shot as the ball hit the board, clanged the iron and danced around the rim before deciding to go out. A split second tip-in by Mythical Member Marvin Vibar also missed at the buzzer.
"SSP earned this win,'' Saad coach Ramon Lachica said. "They were aggressive and attacked our paint. We talked about keys -- rebounding, scoring, assists. The things we needed to do, we didn't do. This is not the true Saad Animo team yet. We'll have to revamp our roster and we promise to beat them next time.''
The game was rough throughout, but SSP patiently rallied on their signature full court pressed. As expected, ace playmaker Caseres zeroed in through the painted area with his off-balance and acrobatic shots making every point counted with fans cheering.
"Our hardship and long preparations paid-off" said by the beaming team manager Edgar Del Rosario. "We owe it to SSP management for their support and always coming in full force to see us play." Indeed, high morale is very evident on the SSP squad as they helped their team stayed alive throughout.
SSP's Caseres and Pelicano joined Dela Pena and Vibar from Saad while Erwin Solomon of Sofcon complete the magic mythical five. Best Coach plum was awarded to Peter Bansag of SSP.
The tournament was organized by 3rd IPSA Basketball League (IBL) jointly sponsored by Qatar Airways, Saudi Steel Pipes Co., Saudi Formaldehyde Chemical Co. Ltd. (SFCCL), Arabian Consulting Engineering Centre (ACEC), Zahid Tractors, Arabian CBI, Al-Qahtani Pipe Coating Terminal Co., Dhahran Al-Arabi Aluminium Co., Lummus Alireza Ltd. Co., Hempel Paints Saudi Arabia, Al-Mutawa Samyong Co., El-Ajou Group, Tal Aramex, Industrial Marketing Co. Al-Othman (IMCO).
Kim G. Cortez
Dammam, Saudi Arabia