KUWAIT CITY, March 13: Papa John’s retained a share of the lead despite suffering a stunning defeat in the 19th Filipino Basketball League (FBL) Goodwill Games Conference at the Bayan Bilingual School in Jabriya, Friday.
In the four matches which were witnessed by the FBL supporters this week Movenpick Al Bida’a stayed on top of the league after brushing aside Papa John’s 92-81, while Triggers tamed Al Essa 73-64, Kaibigan Uno ended Columbus Café’s unbeaten run 56-54 and FIL-AM showed their real form when they thumped Wizara 116-89.
On the other hand, BAP Commissioner Demos Arienda has announced that Metal Center and Sahara, the bottom two teams in the standings – had withdrawn their participation in the current league which has resulted in one or two wins being awarded to selected teams with whom they had not played. However, it is still uncertain when the league will be conclude since each team needs to play 13 games in the elimination round.
This event is being officiated by Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP)-Kuwait Chapter headed by Commissioner Demos Arienda along with Baylon Tenorio, Toots Apostol, Jhune Lagmay, Ferdie Tadena, George Panganiban, Marc Roan, Jun Torres and Joel Acuna.
Movenpick Al Bida’a vs Papa John’s
Movenpick Al Bida’a tamed Papa John’s 92-81 but despite this victory they had to share the lead with the latter after Metal Center and Sahara decided not to finish this season games.
With Movenpick Al Bida’a having played both these teams they were not awarded any wins against these two teams but Papa John’s were given the benefit of one win.
With one win being awarded Papa John’s are currently seated at the top with their conquerors with 9 wins, 2 loses with only 2 more games to play while Movenpick Al Bida’a are on also on top with 9 victories, 1 loss and 3 matches to complete their journey. Although both have the same number of wins, Movenpick Al Bida’a have been given the top spot because they have lost only one match and they also one game in hand over their rivals.
But both teams must keep a close watch over their shoulders as Maidan are in third place by winning all their seven matches and six games in hand.
In the game between Papa John’s and Movenpick Al Bida’a the initial quarter witnessed both teams wearing their best shoes but it was Papa John’s which drew first blood when a long shot was driven by #3 Boanarjes but there was an immediate reply from their opponents through #18 Marlon Enriquez. One of Movenpick Al Bida’a’s finest members #54 Vincent Cagas then received good passes that gave him easy access to the hoops and saw him score 8 points in the first quarter but #71 Lago from the other side of the bench replied all those shots that closed the gap at the end of the 1st quarter to 17-18 in favor of Papa John’s.
Movenpick Al Bida’a immediately realized that Papa John’s were not an easy opponent and stepped hard on the accelerator in the 2nd quarter, scoring through #16 Marlon Batino and getting another 3-point shot from #18 Marlon Enriquez.
Meanwhile, one of Papa John’s premium members #4 Ceballos fired in two long shots but their rivals displayed a lot of energy that ended the 1st half with 7-point lead 36-29 in favor of Movenpick Al Bida’a.
The struggling Papa John’s team established a strong line of defense through #11 Masangkay who chipped in with 6 points in the 3rd quarter alone with a long shot from #28 Magallanes but Movenpick Al Bida’a never took things easy at any point and produced two more long shots from #18 Marlon Enriquez and another one from #9 Ryu Nuique, who also scored well on all the opportunities that came his way from the 15-foot line. With all their players finding the basket ahead by 9 points, Movenpick Al Bida’a stayed ahead by 59-50 at the end of the quarter.
In the last 10 minutes of the ballgame Papa John’s were really made to sweat as they tried their best to catch their rivals but when BAP referees called a technical foul against them for delaying the game it did not seem to help them as the advantage gained by Movenpick Al Bida’a could not be overcome. Movenpick Al Bida’a were assured of victory when another long shot from #18 Marlon Enriquez, a perfect layup from #9 Ryu Nuique and accurate shots by #88 Javier Jimenez from the free throw line made sure they would stay clear of their opponents to walk home with an 11-point 92-81victory.
Kaibigan Uno vs Columbus Cafe
Kaibigan Uno who are currently level with Al Essa Shooters with 5 wins and 5 losses each put a stop to Columbus Café’s unbeaten run through a heartbreaking 2-point victory 56-54.
Kaibigan Uno were all warmed up right from the start of the match as they got a number of points from #12 Bustillo together with a long shot from #22 Ponseca while the other side of the bench it appeared that they were still warming up although they managed to collect points from #28 Rodel Infante that made saw them behind only by 4 points 10-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Columbus Café soon recognized their rivals possessed a lot of skills that made them come up with a different plan with a lot of emphasis on solid defense from #20 Jay dela Paz and #9 Quarry Velasco that stopped their rivals from shifting into a higher level also provided an opportunity for #24 Gulocan and #6 Lito Cruz to score a number of shot that turned the lead in their favor with the score 26-22 at the end of the 2nd quarter.
However, it was not very long before all the basketball fanatics were clutching to the edge of their seats as a tremendous seesaw battle took place in the next quarter. Kaibigan Uno displayed their shooting prowess through back to back 3-point shots coming from #12 Bustillo and another two from #93 Indok that saw them swung the advantage to their favour as they led by 2 points 40-38 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
The last quarter saw both teams thirst for victory on display as they both showed a vast amount of energy. One of Columbus Café’s finest members #9 Quarry Velasco was fouled out before the end of the game but #28 Rodel Infante carried on with a good defense that also provided easy access to #24 Gulocan and #7 Charlo Cuevas who scored 9 points in the same quarter alone with a long shot from #8 Normel Macabaco.
Kaibigan Uno on the other hand made sure of using all the breaks that came their way from the free throw line through #5 Ocampo and Bustillo while time failed to favor their opponents as Kaibigan Uno took the match 56-54 when the buzzer sounded.
Currently Columbus Café are in 8th place with 4 wins 1 loss and 8 matches to go to complete the elimination round. With these number of matches in hand they could turn things around if they went on a winning streak.
FIL-AM vs Wizara
FIL-AM moved into 4th place with 6 wins including their 116-89 victory over Wizara .FIL-Am have so far suffered 2 losses and have 6 games to finish the elimination round while Wizara are lying 3rd from the bottom of the table with 2 wins, 8 losses and 3 games left.
FIL-AM stamped their authority over the Wizara squad from the start to finish when they displayed some real class with powerful back to back long shots driven by #14 Sumague and #24 Oly De Castro, who provided a handful of points, along with #33 Cris Libre while from the other side of the bench there were three 3-point shots from #89 Aquino, #8 Villanueva and #1 Pelayo but Wizara still came out short when their rivals took a lead of 6 points 21-15 at the end of the first quarter.
In the 2nd quarter, FIL-AM were really at the top as they piled up a massive score through #15 Vallega, #8 Najera, #5 Punzalan along with back to back 3-pointers from the “Small but Powerful” #2 Jerry Tan although their opponents got some points through #18 Rulong, #12 Mc Jeff and #8 Villanueva. FIL-AM, with this onslaught, moved far ahead by 26 points 55-29 by the end of the first half.
Wizara tried to use all the opportunities that came their way to match their rivals overwhelming energy and also tried to tighten up their defense through #07 Ty while getting some good shots from #8 Villanueva, #3 Barnachea and four back to back baskets from #18 Rulona accompanied by long shots from #4 Abello and #89 Aquino.
On the other hand, there was no way but forward for FIL-AM who were not complacent at any point although they were far ahead and they displayed their shooting ability and camaraderie on the courts which ended with a 22-point 79-57 lead by the end of the 3rd quarter.
It seems that the last quarter of the game was not enough for Wizara to improve their condition although they tried hard but their efforts were not sufficient to stop FIL-AM who went on to rout them by 27 points 116- 89.
Triggers vs Al Essa
Triggers are in 5th place o far with 7 wins including their 73-64 victory over Al Essa 73-64. They have 3 losses and 3 games left to play .
The first quarter saw Al Essa in their best form as the latter fired back to back long shots through #12 Marvin Lompero backed by a handful of points from #8 Marvin Macaraeg while Triggers appeared to start a bit slowly with most of the points from #21 Darwin and a 3-point shot from #17 Magallanes as Al Essa went ahead by 4 points 19-14 at the end of the first quarter.
It was not very long before Triggers pulled their act together and made a tremendous turnaround with unstoppable back to back baskets from #19 Gadia and #16 Ghie and a solid defense from #14 Ibarra that held back their opponents and did not allow them to score to turn advantage in their favor and lead by 7 points 37-30 by end of the first half.
Meanwhile, the tussle for supremacy was seen in the 3rd quarter as both of the teams proved that they were not easy opponents. Al Essa confirmed that they were on top of the challenge when #16 Rey Villanueva received some good passes to collect 14 points in the same quarter alone with some good defense through #19 Chorex Subo and #13 Chris Caparas that limited access to the baskets for their opponents and did not allow them to move ahead as the quarter ended in a 47-47 deadlock.
The final quarter saw both the teams equally fired up with an early long shot coming from #19 Gadia of Triggers followed by an immediate reply from the other side of the bench through #10 Neil Toledo. However, Triggers set game plan left their opponents in their wake as they went on to score landed a 9-point 73-64 victory.
Lots of exciting matches await FBL supporters next Friday at the same arena with the schedule to be published later in the Arab Times.
Initial Standings
No    TEAMS    WIN    LOSS    Games                     to Play
1    Movenpick Al Bida'a     9    1    3
2    Papa John's    9    2    2
3    Maidan    7    0    6
4    FIL AM    6    2    5
5    Triggers    5    3    5
6    Al Essa Shooters    5    5    3
7    Kaibigan Uno    5    5    3
8    Columbus Coffee    4    1    8
9    Holiday Inn    4    3    6
10    Desert Fox    4    6    3
11    Shoonan     3    4    6
12    Wizara    2    8    3
13    Metal Center     1    7    5
14    Sahara     0    8    5
FBL, FMVL and FWVL organizers would like to thank their sponsors Caroll Ong from Metrobank Super Bilis Padala and Red Bull Energy Drink for supporting their events.