KUWAIT CITY, March 20: Basketball Association of the Philippines - Kuwait Chapter continues to provide quality and entertaining ballgames in the ongoing 19th Filipino Basketball League (FBL) and 9th Filipino Women’s Volleyball League (FWVL) Goodwill Games Conference as a number of close and exciting games were witnessed at the Bayan Bilingual School in Jabriya, Friday.
Four games took place in FBL this week with Holiday Inn overcoming Columbus Café 75-69, while FIL-AM outlasted Triggers 83-79, Wizara brushed Desert Fox 87-78, Movenpick Al Bida’a tamed Al Essa 92-81 and Maidan retained their unbeaten record when they won by default against Shoonan when the latter failed to turn up for their match.
Meanwhile, there was one game in FWVL, with Almuzaini Exchange showing the class they have exhibited from the start of the tournament to remain undefeated after they fought back from a first-set loss to outclass Lear Siegler Service Inc. 24-26, 25-15, 25-13.
This event is being officiated by Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP)-Kuwait Chapter with Commissioner Demos Arienda along with Baylon Tenorio, Toots Apostol, Jhune Lagmay, Ferdie Tadena, George Panganiban, Jun Torres and Joel Acuna.

FWVL
Almuzaini Exchange vs Lear Siegler Service Inc.
Almuzaini Exchange team proved that they are one of the top contenders this season after they retained their unbeaten record when they pressed on the accelerator in the last two sets to stay in the driver’s seat to outclassed Lear Siegler Service Inc. 24-26, 25-15, 25-13.
The initial set saw Lear Siegler Service Inc. were in their best form to start their point count through Myra who hammered a massive number of spikes while getting some excellent support from Lala, Sheila and Maricar.
Almuzaini on the other hand seemed to play the game as if they were still warming up as they produced various errors that handed the advantage to their rivals who piled on the pressure to move ahead. But you can’t keep a good team down for long and it was only a matter of time before Almuzaini got into their grove and some amazing spikes were driven by Mariel coming from a good set up by Janeth that put both the teams on level terms at 24-24 at one point that pushed for an extension to the game.
After overcoming all the deficit and being on level terms, Almuzaini again committed an error that put their rivals ahead by one point but a winning spike from Lala saw Lear Siegler Service Inc take the initial set 26-24.
Meanwhile, Almuzaini had shown at the end of the first set what they were capable of doing and they carried this form into the second set as they realized that they needed to win the set to level the match 1-1 and push the game into a 3rd deciding. Mariel and Gemma, two of Almuzaini’s finest members, hit a number of spike that their rivals caught unawares as Almuzaini ran off with the second set 25-15.
The less said about the second set the better as Almuzaini were in total control from the start and committed no errors this time with their rivals wilting under the onslaught.
It seems that Lear Siegler Service Inc. were really affected by this onslaught as they could not find an antidote to match their rivals overwhelming energy and although their line up - Maricar, Bea, Lala, Myra, Sheilla and Michelle - tried as hard as they could to match the performance of Almuzaini - composed of Mariel, Gemma, Shy, Gee, Janeth and Pam - they were never really in the game as the Almuzaini showed a lot of determination and focus to easily take the third set 25-13 points and with that the match.
The Best Player of the Game Award was given to Mariel of Almuzaini Exhange Team.
With this victory Almuzaini are sitting comfortably at the top of the table with five victories from five matches and by now have beaten all the other teams at least once.
Gulf Cryo, who didn’t have a game this week - are lying second with three wins and a loss from their four matches while Noodles Restaurant are not in a happy position having been defeated four times in their six matches. Lear Siegler Service Inc are carrying all the weight of the standings table as they are at the bottom with defeats in all their five matches.
Initial Standings
    GP    W    L
Almuzaini Exchange    5    5    0
Gulf Cryo    4    3    1
Noodles Restaurant    6    2    4
Lear Siegler Service Inc    5    0    5
FBL
FIL-AM vs Triggers
FIL-AM maintained their 4th position in the standings but not before they were made to sweat to outlast the good team of Triggers 83-79 in one of the earlier matches that day.
The initial quarter saw both teams startoff in high spirits, Triggers managed to get back to back three-point shots from #19 Gadian and #17 Magallanes while from the other side of the bench combined shots from #11 Raneses and #33 Libre made sure they were not left not far behind as the score read 18-16 in favor of Triggers at the end of the quarter.
Both teams displayed the same level of energy in the second quarter as neither of them proved to be an easy prey. Wearing jersey #8 Lorilla and #3 Joey of Triggers scored a large number of points in the 2nd quarter while they also put up a strong defense.
It was, however, not long before FIL-AM got the chance to score with some excellent shots from the free throw line through #9 Yap and #8 Najera who possesses a good grip and makes sure of not wasting any chance that comes his way. With the game very close FIL-AM were behind by only one point 32-33 at the end of the first half.
A seesaw battle was seen in the 3rd quarter but Triggers continued to flourished when #13 Dado hit some fine shots along with good backing from #21 Darwin. One of FIL-AM’s three-point shooters #14 Sumague made sure his team was not shut off from the match as he found the basket a number of times with solid backing from #19 Glean but they continued to trail by 3 points 59-56 and since the game was very tight and the temperatures rising a warning to the Triggers bench was called at one point.
FIL-AM were awakened in the last 10 minutes of the ballgame and they came up with a game plan.Some solid defense were displayed by #19 Glean, #8 Najera while #33 Libre missed no shot from the 15 foot-line .From the other side of the bench #13 Dado was fouled out before the game ended but they kept the ball rolling through #8 Lorilla but time failed to favor them as their rivals were saved by the shot from #8 Najera and an assurance basket from #9 Yap from the free-throw line sent FIL-AM to a four-point 83-79 victory as the time ran out.
Triggers defeat caused them to drop from 5th to 6th place this week in the standings.
Holiday Inn vs Columbus Café
Early sunshine seemed to work wonders on Holiday Inn as they put on a good performance and tamed Columbus Café 75-69 after dominating the match from the start to the finish.
In the first quarter, Holiday Inn harvested points through back to back long shots from #42 Ravelas and #11 Prats accompanied by an astonishing 10 points from #7 Felipe in the same quarter alone while Columbus Café gathered the same number of points through #24 Gulucan backed by #7 Cuevas but they were 6 points behind 18-24 at the end of the quarter.
Meanwhile, Holiday Inn carried on with their domination of the proceedings through #7 Felipe’s fine shots while their rivals strong defense resulted in fouls and gave opportunity to #36 Payumo to consistently score from the free throw line.
On the other hand, Columbus Café maximized all the chances from the 15- foot line through #10 Pascual who scored 7 points in the 2nd quarter alone but their opponents retained a the 6-point 37-31 advantage at the end of the first half.
Bursting with tons of energy, Holiday Inn made sure to maximize the shots from the 15-oot line through #31 Garcia with more back to back shots from #7 Felipe while they put up a strong defense which their opponents found difficult to penetrate in an effort to find the hoops although they gathered six points from #10 Pascual. Columbus Café found the going really tough fall short as their rivals moved ahead by 13 points 56-43 by the end of the 3rd quarter.
Columbus Café find it quite difficult to match the skill and performance of their rivals but they stepped on the accelerator through #6 Cruz and #24 Gulucan.
Holiday Inn, however, were not to be denied and stuck stick to their task through two of their finest players - #7 Felipe and #36 Payumo — who were provided good passes by their teammates that made them walk home with a 76-69 victory.
Wizara vs Desert Fox
Wizara add up another win to their total this week when they overcame Desert Fox 87-78 points in overtime but despite this victory Wizara stayed 3rd from the bottom of the table due to their indifferent form in their earlier matches.
Both teams played almost at the same level of intensity in the first two quarters of the ballgame. Desert Fox gained a healthy number of points through back to back 3-point shots from #24 while from the other side of the bench #89 Aquino and #8 Villanueva displayed the same shooting skills that resulted in both the teams being tied 19-19 at the end of the first quarter.
On the other hand, the tussle for supremacy continued in the 2nd quarter as neither of team proved that they were an easy opponent. Desert Fox pulled together most of their points through #24 Mangampat and #5 Soriano while another long shot from #89 Aquino from Wizara and some points from #12 Mc Jaf kept them on the same level 36-36 points at the end of the first half.
Meanwhile, Wizara put up a tight defense through #11 Chaneco that held back their rivals and also stopped them from getting clear shots at the basket . But Desert Fox still managed to score back to back long shots from #5 Soriano and #21 Bantig although these points were not sufficient as Wizara had an answer to those baskets through #89 Aquino and #4 Abello accompanied by fine shots from #8 Villanueva that broke the tie as they moved ahead by 6 points 59-53 by the end of the 3rd quarter.
The last quarter witnessed a number of steals from Desert Fox that eventually resulted in a seesaw battle that put them once again both the teams on the same stage as they were tied 73-73 with a few seconds left in the ballgame. Desert Fox consumed a lot of time by passing the ball around and when #5 Soriano released a shot it did not get through but a foul was called against his rivals that gave an opportunity for him to deliver two free throws with 5 seconds left. To Desert Fox bad luck he missed both the shots that called for an extension. Little did Desert Fox realize what price they would have to pay for these misses.
Wizara displayed determination for victory when they pulled off a number of steals and were involved in a lot of fast breaks while their rivals seemed to misplace their coordination and fell short on their way in to take the shots as Wizara took the game 87-78.
Movenpick Al Bida’a vs Al Essa
Movenpick Al Bida’a were strongly challenged by the 5- man team of Al Essa before they took control of the match to brush aside their rivals by 91-81 points.
In the 1st quarter both teams were on the same level in their performance when they exchanged shots that resulted in a deadlock a number of times, first at 11-11, and then 17-17 but Al Essa got another shot through #12 Lompera that put them ahead 19-17.
The 2nd quarter witnessed Al Essa involved in some brilliant shooting from #1 Garcia and #12 Lompera while from Movenpick Al Bida’a #18 Enriquez and #16 Batino received good passes that give them easy access to the hoops that made them level 39-39 by the end of the 1st half.
Movenpick Al Bida’a realized the ability of their rivals that made them come up with a game plan to move far ahead and with three back to back long shots from #18 Enriquez and some valuable points scored by #30 Cortez they moved ahead 71-59 by the end of the 3rd quarter.
Meanwhile, the last quarter saw the 5-man team of Al Essa gasping for air but they still continued to try as hard as they could to level with their opponents and with #28 Santos’ back to back long shots they managed to close the gap to 2 points 74-76 but when one of Movenpick Al Bida’a finest members #18 Enriquez started to fire back to back 3 pointers their rivals attempted to do the same but to no avail.
With a few seconds left in the ballgame #54 Cagas threw the ball from half a court away and amazingly it went into the basket as he managed another buzzer beater 3-point shot that saw Movenpick Al Bida’a walk home with an 11-point 92-81victory.
Initial Standings
    No.    Teams    Win    Loss    Games
                    to Play
    1    Movenpick Al Bida’a    10    1    2
    2    Papa John’s    9    2    2
    3    Maidan    8    0    5
    4    FIL-AM    7    2    4
    5    Holiday Inn    5    3    5
    6    Triggers    5    4    4
    7    Kaibigan Uno    5    5    3
    8    Al Essa Shooters    5    6    2
    9    Columbus Café    4    2    7
    10    Desert Fox    4    7    2
    11    Shoonan    3    5    5
    12    Wizara    2    7    4
    13    Metal Center     1    7    5
    14    Sahara     0    8    5
Game Schedule, Friday March 26:
FWVL
LSI vs Gulf Cryo - 1300 hours
FMVL
Rebellious Elfin vs Angel Eyes - 1400 hours
Boushahri Group vs Maki - 1500 hours
BAP Commissioner Demos Arienda has announced that there will be no game on April 2, Good Friday.
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.