KUWAIT CITY, Oct 30:In one of the best ballgames ever seen on the basketball courts of Kuwait, Heritage won a battle of wits, stamina and skills when they beat the good team of Papa John’s-Pilipinas by 85-80 points in the Championship Finals of the Filipino Basketball League (FBL) Goodwill Games Conference at the Bayan Bilingual School in Jabriya, Friday.
While this match was held in the early afternoon, earlier that day in the ongoing Inter-Company Tournament defending champions Safir International edged N-Dash 97-95 while Holiday Inn hammered Pirates 79-58 and Hilton Kuwait Resort tamed MOH 68-56.
These quality ballgames are being officiated by Filipino Basketball League (FBL)-Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) Kuwait Chapter headed by Commissioner Demos Arienda along with his committed group of office-bearers who consistently deliver quality judgements in all the matches. These officials include James Miranda and Victoria Apostol — Time and Score Keeper, BAP Referees—Ferdie Tadena, Aries Buenaventura, George Panganiban, Toots Apostol, Baylon Tenorio and Joel Acuna —FBL President.

Open Category
Heritage vs Papa John’s
Both teams had nearly the same number of supporters who backed their teams in the loudest of voices throughout the match. With so much support, Papa John’s and Heritage showed that they had the same level of energy earlier in the match when both of them put on a tight defense and were 4-4 at one point but when one of Papa John’s finest members, the “Small but Terrible” #5 Chris Reyes fired a long shot as they moved ahead by 7-6 points. Heritage tightened their defense further while their rivals tried to gain access to the hoops that resulted in two baskets from #11 Jeremiah Masangcay and #14 Bautista even after being fouled Both of them, however, failed to put in the bonus shot. Meanwhile, from the other side of the bench #29 Dwiggins delivered most the shots but they were still behind 8-14 that resulted in them deciding to call for a time out with 4:58 minutes left in the quarter.

However, this break allowed Papa John’s to come up with a game plan that produced nice lay-up shots from #23 Pascua that kept them ahead 20-12 with 2:20 minutes remaining. Tight defense from both the sides resulted in penalties Soon a foul was called on Papa John’s that handed result in two free throw shots but immediately a technical foul was called due to some unsportsmanlike behavior by #1 Banez that handed the advantage to Heritage who now had four free throws to score and ball possession. Heritage missed the free throws but #45 Ferdie Cortez managed to get a basket that took the score to 26-17 with 8 seconds left in the ballgame while #18 Jovil Sardena’s 3-point shot reduced the deficit to 20-26 by the end of the quarter for Heritage.
In the next quarter Heritage displayed a tight defense that brought them a number of fouls and handed an opportunity to Papa John’s to step up to the free throw line repeatedly.#17 Atan Lago made sure he did not miss any of the four shots to put Paapa John’s ahead 30-24 with 8:11 minutes left in the quarter.
Although it appeared that one of Papa John’s best team players #4 Alfredo Ceballos was not in his best shoes as he was stopped for two “travelling” and lose ball violations he managed to acquire a number of steals that produced back to back baskets from two of their premium members — #11 Jeremiah Masangkay and #5 Chris Reyes. Heritage bounced back with fine shots from #45 Ferdie Cortez and a long shot from #29 Dwiggins but their opponents kept in control of the game with a lead of 10 points 41-31 with 4:21 on the clock.

Intense pressure resulted in a number of lose balls from Papa John’s that hand an opportunity to Heritage to get back to back baskets from #18 Jovil Sardena and Manzano Although they received bench warning at one point they managed to close the gap to 41-45 with 31 seconds left in the quarter. Papa John’s kept a hold of the lead when they fired in a long shot through #14 Bautista but they finished the 2nd quarter with a lead of 50-43 points after a brilliant turn around shot from #0 Nicolas.
A tussle for supremacy was seen in the 3rd quarter as neither team wanted to admit they were second best. Papa John’s made various errors — stepping on the line, “travelling” and lose balls —while Heritage displayed some of their shooting prowess through the “Small but Terrible” #2 Jeff Espadero who drove in a number of baskets, including a 3-pointer, along with a good shot from #3 Renato Gautane that resulted in number of deadlocks, on 50-50 and then 54-54, with 5 minutes 52 seconds left in the ballgame.

Meanwhile, it was not very long before Papa John’s made some good passes to #5 Chris Reyes and #14 Bautista that produced baskets and again put them ahead 61-56 but a counter attack by Heritage saw a long shot from #3 Jeff Espadero and two free throw shots from #24 Palma that closed the gap to 6-63 with 2:34 minutes left in the quarter. Papa John’s were alarmed and pushed forward hard with two back to back long shots from #14 Bautista and #1 Banez Heritage tried to put a stop to their opponents onslaught in any way they could and this resulted in #28 Lareza pulling the jersey of #1 Banez that resulted in a technical foul that again gave a 7-point lead to Papa John’s as the score went to 70-63 with 1:01 minutes left in the quarter Heritage made sure of using the few seconds left well and with a good rebound and two shots from #4 Manzano cut the deficit to 67-71 by the end of the 3rd quarter.
In the last 10 minutes of ballgame both teams showed some real class, although Papa John’s made a number of errors which resulted in Heritage gaining the advantage after #29 Dwiggins provided a basket that took the score to 73-72 with 7:06 left in the ballgame.

However, after sometime one of Papa John’s assets #11 Jeremiah Masangcay was injured that put him out of the game and handed the advantage to their rivals and again resulted in a deadlock at 75-75 with 4minutes 41 seconds on the clock.
Heritage’s determination had now began to show and before #18 Jovil Sardena was fouled out he hit a remarkable long shot that put his team in the lead 78-75 with 3:18 minutes on the clock. The very much needed free throw shots which were awarded to Papa John’s fell short a number of times and soon Heritage were leading 81-78 points with 1:10 left in the ballgame.
It was not a lucky day for Papa John’s when #1 Banez attempted two 3 point shots but the ball just bounced out the hoops each time After a time out was called by Heritage, a plan to consume time resulted in the 24-second violation a number of times but Papa John’s also failed to recover as they could not find their shooting arms while for Heritage the “Small but Terrible” #2 Jeff Espadero put in assurance basket from the free throw line that saw them win the match 80-85.

Awarding
The awarding ceremony was held shortly after the match.The Best Muse award was given to Yeng Gonzales while Best In Uniform award went to the Malena team. 3rd runners-up were Russel-Slashers, 2nd runners-up Triskelion (Tau Gamma Phi) Kuwait Chapter, 1st runners-up Papa John’s-Pilipinas and Champions Heritage, whose trophy was received by their Team Manager Abdul Hadi.
Based on statistical records from the beginning until the end of the league FBL-BAP officials collated all the individual performances to come up with the Mythical 5 lineup based on highest number of points scored in the whole season — four out of these five players were from Papa John’s-Pilipinas with the “Small but Terrible” #5 Chris Reyes getting 120 points, #4 Alfredo Ceballos 105 points, #11 Jeremiah Masangcay 95 points and #17 Atan Lago 75 points. The last member in the line up was #18 Jovil Sardena from Heritage with 74 points.

The Heritage team walked home with the Best Player of the Game award for the Championship finals as this was awarded to #45 Ferdie Cortez who scored 16 points while the highest recognition of the tournament was given to another member of the team as the Most Valuable Player award was handed to #3 Renato “Da Giant” Gautane, who while displaying an excellent all-round game also scored 65 points in the season.
All this individuals were given free ATM cards with initial deposit through the generosity of Caroll Ong from Metrobank-Super Bilis Padala who has been supporting the organization for ages. And with this Arienda handed over a Plaque of Appreciation to Ong. Areinda also announced that the opening for the Open Tournament will be on Nov 26.
The program ended with a special prayer of thanks led by FBL-BAP Commissioner Demos Arienda.

FBL Inter-Company
Safir International vs N-Dash
Defending Champions Safir International scored their initial victory of the tournament this Friday when they beat N-Dash 97-95.
The first quarter saw N-Dash in full battle gear as they came up with brilliant shooting from #24 Palma, #12 Lumpero and #10 Toledo while from the other side of the bench it appeared Safir were still warming up, getting most of their scores from #1 Dilbert Aragones but they left behind by 11 points with N-Dash leading 25-14 at the end of the quarter.
Safir International moved up a gear in the next quarter and saw some brilliant shooting from #3 Benjie Malijan and #11 Macoy Bantillo including a long shot but their rivals kept their foot on the accelerator and scored a number of baskets through #6 Gandia accompanied by back to back long shots from #10 Toledo and #12 Lumpero that gave them a 6-point lead 43-37 by the end of the 2nd quarter.

In the 3rd quarter, N-Dash put up their best defense through #7 Galin and #12 Lumpero who also managed two long shots backed by two more from #10 Toledo that kept them in control and gave them a 3-point 68-65 lead at one stage but what they didn’t notice was that Safir International was slowly closing in, backed by a good defense through #5 Louie Natividad and #19 Jun Ballesteros, who also scored a long shot along with a number of shots from #20 Ruel Nerpio, including a 3-pointer.. There were also some outstanding shots from #1 Dilbert Aragones which helped Safir close the gap on N-Dash.
The last 10 minutes witnessed tables turned when Safir International proved that they possessed a number of good shooting arms, especially #3 Benjie Malijan and #11 Macoy Bantillo, while N-Dash were made to sweat to put up an intense defense and although they managed to get in another long shot from #12 Lumpero time did not favor them as their rivals managed to score a lot of free throws that saw Safir win t by 2 points 97-95.

Hilton vs MOH
Hilton Kuwait Resort showed some real class when they overwhelmed MOH by 12 points 68-56 after dominating the game from the start to the finish.
The first quarter witnessed Hilton in their best shoes with some good shooting coming from #7 Marwan, #8 Ivan and #18 Jerive, including a long shot, while from the other side of the bench #4 Abello managed a long shot but they were left behind by 16 points 27-11 at the end of the first quarter.
An early long shot by #1 Vitug, along with some points from #7 De Jesus, from MOH did not alarm Hilton as #7 Marwan seemed to have perfected his shots from the free throw line. They also got some points from #17 Wang that kept them ahead by 13 points 26-39 by the end of the 2nd quarter.
In the 3rd quarter MOH tried to find an antidote to check their opponents overwhelming energy that which got them back to back 3 point shots from #11 Chaneco and #1 Vitug with some good shots from #18 but their efforts appeared to fall short as Hilton were never complacent at any point and carried on putting up a good defense and getting shots #17 Wang and #7 Marwan that MOH behind by 38-53 points.
In the last quarter, MOH did some good shooting through #18 and #8 Villanueva but Hilton were unstoppable as they managed to fire in another long shot through #76 Ecaldre backed by baskets from #17 Wang and #7 Marwan as they went on to win 68-56.

Holiday Inn vs Pirates
In an earlier match, Holiday Inn overpowered a depleted Pirates side by 79-58 points.
The initial quarter saw both teams showing the same level of energy. Holiday Inn got most of the shots from #7 Zalde Felipe while Pirates replied with back to back baskets from #24 Ronan and #53 Phoenix, inclusive of a long shot that put Holiday Inn ahead 14-13 at the end of the quarter.
However, it was not very long before Holiday Inn showed what they are really made of as they put up solid defense through #42 Mark Jun Ravelas that allowed them back to back shooting from #11 Luis Martin Prats and #7 Zalde Felipe while their opponents were caught unawares but still managed to get some points from #24 Ronan and a long shot from #19. Holiday Inn continued to dominate as they extended their lead to 9 points 38-29 by the end of the 1st half.

Pirates used the break to come up with a game plan since they realized that Holiday Inn were not an easy opponent and proved that they have some shooting ability as they delivered two back to back long shots from #28 Lizardo and #19 although their rivals managed to retaliate through #31 that closed the gap to 7 points 46-53 at the end of the third quarter.
On the other hand, Holiday Inn never played easy in the last quarter and put up a good defense that gave easy access to the hoops to #3, #42 Mark Jun Ravelas and #15 Pirates made many attempts from the 3 point area and succeeded twice through #28 Lizardo and #23 Terania but they still fell short with their opponents going on to win 79-58.
Meanwhile, FBL-BAP Officials would like to inform everyone that the Inter-Company League is exclusively for the bonafide employees of the competing organizations.
Initial standings
Rank Teams W L
1 Kuwait Steel 3 0
2 Black & White 3 1
3 Hilton Kuwait Resort 2 1
4 Holiday Inn 2 1
5 Safir International 1 1
6 Pirates 1 2
7 MOH 1 2
8 N-Dash 1 2
9 Kuwait Energy 1 2
10 Spirit Warriors 0 3

20th FBL Open Category Award Recipients:
Champions: Heritage
1st runners-up: Papa John’s Pilipinas
2nd runners-up: Triskelion
3rd runners-up: Russel-Slashers
Most Valuable Player (MVP): #3 Renato Gautane-Heritage
Best Player of the Game —Finals: #45 Ferdie Cortez-Heritage

Mythical Five
#11 Jeremiah Masangcay —Papa John’s
#5 Chris Reyes —Papa John’s
#4 Alfredo Ceballos —Papa John’s
#17 Atan Lago — Papa John’s
#18 Jovil Sardena —Heritage
Best in Uniform: Malena
Best Muse: Yeng Gonzales
FBL-BAP organizers would like to offer their special thanks to Caroll Ong from Metrobank Super Bilis Padala for supporting their events and Gerson Pasumbal from Kapamilya Fastfood Restaurant and Bakery for gift certificates for the Best Player of the Game.