KUWAIT CITY, Nov 20: After a week’s pause Bayan Bilingual School in Jabriya was once again packed with basketball supporters and they were treated to some real basketball action when Kuwait Steel showed a lot of class once again to maintain their unbeaten run with a thrashing of defending champions Safir International 93-78 in the 3rd Inter-Company Filipino Basketball League (FBL) Goodwill Games Conference Friday. The other games saw Kuwait Steel Company outlast N-Dash 63-59, while Black and White brushed aside MOH 76-70 and Spirit Warriors tamed Baroue 56-50. 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 judgement in all the matches.These 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.

Kuwait Steel vs Safir International
In the last game on Friday, Bayan Bilingual School was filled with basketball fans who were there to witness one of the most awaited encounters of season with the undefeated Kuwait Steel taking on defending champions Safir International and coming out of the match with a 15 point 93-78 victory. The initial quarter saw Kuwait Steel in their best form as they took off with back to back baskets from #1 Artie dela Cruz, #16 Igning Bacucanag and #17 Raymund de Vera while from the other side of the bench #1 Dilbert Aragones got past the rival defence a number of times for most of the points for his side but Safir International were still left behind by 6 points as Kuwait Steel led 20-14 at the end of the quarter.

However, it was not very long before Kuwait Steel pressed down hard on the accelerator and at the same time tightened their defense through #46 Orlan Gracias, and #16 Igning Bacucanag that allowed easy access to the baskets to #17 Raymund de Vera and #31 Rommel Ramilo. They got some very good support from #29 Ato Mondejar, who backed a good and strong defense with a good basket while there was a long shot from #46 Orlan Gracias as Kuwait Steel managed to stretch their lead to 17 points 46-29 by end of 1st half. Meanwhile, their opponents appeared to have been caught off guard although they were still able to compile some points through #1 Dilbert Aragones and #4 Alex Echevaria as they tried their best to stay as close as they could with their rivals although their efforts were futile with Kuwait Steel gaining in Steel and refusing to slow down their game.

Never at any point did Kuwait Steel play easy and it was not long before the clock started ticking in the 3rd quarter. Kuwait Steel continued from where they left off in the second quarter as they carried the momentum into the 3rd quarter while all the players combining well to get good assists with the ball being passed on to the good shooters drive. It was not long before Kuwait Steel seemed to be running away with the match as they got back to back baskets from #8 Jek Romero and #17 Raymund de Vera while there was a long shot from #16 Igning Bacucanag that put Kuwait Steel in total control as the scoreboard read 60-33 in their favor with 5:10 seconds left in the third quarter.

Safir International tried as hard as they could to match the game of their rivals but they failed to make maximum use of the opportunities that came their way in the form of free throws. Instead Safir International acquired a number of violations that handed the advantage to their opponents.
Although at some point one of the premium members “Small but Terrible” #3 Benjie Malijan managed a number of steals and penetrated the rival defence to find the basket, Kuwait Steel refused to be affected by the drive of their opponents to take a 28-point 71-43 point at the end of the third quarter.
Defending champions Safir International tried hard to find the right antidote to counter the onslaught of their opponents and they put in their best effort, resulting in them getting some points through #11 Bertillo Macoy and #1 Dilbert Aragones along with a long shot from #23 Jomar Dunca. Safir International seemed to be finally getting into the right frame of mind as they cut the deficit to 18 points with the score 77-59 in favor of Kuwait Steel with 5:24 seconds left in the final quarter.

Kuwait Steel appeared to slow down and seemed to be satisfied with their performance as they were pretty much confident that they owned this game. It was not long before Kuwait Steel once again managed to get some outstanding shots from #17 Raymund de Vera along with 3 points from #16 Igning Bacucanag that saw them ahead 84-66 with only 2 minutes left in the ballgame. Kuwait Steel used rest of the time wisely and although they were awarded a bench technical foul this did not give any chance to Safir International to swing the lead in their favor and they accepted a 15-point 78-93 as Kuwait Steel remained strong right until the very end. Kuwait Steel also took the Best Player of the Game award as it was given to #17 Raymund de Vera.

Kuwait Energy vs N-Dash
A depleted Kuwait Energy team showed that fewer players on the bench did not matter too much as long as those who were available had the stamina and determination to win as they edged N-Dash by 63-59 points in one of the afternoon matches. N-Dash were in their best shoes when they opened the initial quarter with three long shots, two from #12 Marvin Lompero and the third one from #29 Emil Botacion while from the other side of the courts it seemed that Kuwait Energy were still warming up and collected most of the shots through #9 Ryan Ducusin that resulted in them getting half of their rivals score with N-Dash leading the game 16-8 at the end of the first quarter.

But it was not very long before the six-men team of Kuwait Energy put on their best shoes and dazzled their rivals with non-stop baskets from #9 Rayan Ducusin and #12 Willie Rasay while it seemed that N-Dash could not find the right angle for some of their shots although they still managed to get two baskets each from #19 Chorex Subo, #24 Jaime Palma Jr, #6 Rushty Gandia and #18 Chris Caparas that gave them a one point lead 33-32 by the end of the 2nd quarter. Kuwait Energy seemed to be satisfied with their performance in this quarter as they had not only managed to contain their opponents but also close in to within one point.

After the break, N-Dash realized that they should not be complacent since their rivals were not an easy prey and they put together a good defense that also provided space to their good shooters as they got baskets through #12 Marvin Lompero , including a long shot , while from the other side of the bench #12 Willie Rasay seemed to carry the responsibility to do the scoring as he got some good baskets but N-Dash finished short by 2 points as Kuwait Energy led 47-45 by end of 3rd quarter. Kuwait Energy Company showed what they are made of in the last 10 minutes of the game when they erected a strong line of defense through #14 Boyet Alagao that brought a long shot from #9 Ryan Ducusin while N-Dash managed to reply through #19 Chorex Subo. Kuwait Energy, however, made sure that they were perfect from the free throw line as time failed to favor N-Dash .Kuwait Energy Company went on to collect a 4-point 63-59 victory. The Best Player of the Game award was given to #9 Ryan Ducusin of Kuwait Energy Company.

Black & White vs MOH
Black and White took 2nd place in team standings as they have managed 4 wins so far including their 76-70 victory over MOH in this week’s match. The first quarter witnessed Black and White all warmed up as they showed their shooting prowess through #18 Allare and #3 Jay Rapiz along with a long shot from #9 Philip Aguiluz while from the other side of the court there were back to back baskets from #5 Lalan Pelayo and #18 Ruloma Marcous but Black and White held off their opponents to take a 20-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the 2nd quarter, Black and White kept their opponent astonished with their performance as they acquired some good baskets through #3 Jay Rapiz and a 3-point shot from #15 Rhon Bitoon while MOH acquired most of the points through #3 Barnachea Maverick and #1 Villanueva Dino but there was not much they could do as Black and White led 36-29 by the end of the 1st half.

MOH showed the other side of their game in the 3rd quarter when they put up a good defense and at the same time got some good shots through #1 Villanueva Dino along with 3-point basket through #89 Aquino Marchoni although Black and White replied the long shot through #15 Rhon Bitoon they were not able to hold up the lead and both the teams were tied 51-51 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
The last quarter of the game witnessed Black and White come up with a game plan to rout their opponent as they fired in back to back long shots through #15 Rhon Bitoon that caught their rivals off guard. Although MOH fought through some good shots from #5 Pelayo Lelan their opponents made sure that they did not waste any chances from the free throw line that gave them a 6-point 76-70 victory. Wearing Jersey #15 Rhon Bitoon of Black and White was given the Best Player of the Game award.

Spirit Warriors vs Baroue
Earlier that day, Spirit Warrior brushed aside a depleted Baroue squad by 56-50 points. The low-scoring game saw only a few baskets being scored in the initial quarter of the match as both the teams appeared to be warming up. The slow game and erratic shooting concluded 8-6 points in favor of Baroue. The score was more suited to a tennis set rather than a basketball game.

However, it was not very long before both the teams put on their best shoes. Baroue filled the hoops with good shots from #53 Natz Policarpio and #24 Fesay Ronan along with a long shot from #23 Rey Terania while from the other side of the bench #3 Romeo Manabat and #1 Baswin Dennis contributed most of the baskets .The first half finished in favor of Baroue with the score still very low — 23-19 points.
In the 3rd quarter, both the teams put up an extensive defense that stopped both the sides from adding too much to their scores. Baroue managed a long shot through #53 Natz Policarpio but from the other side of the bench #25 Carosa Carl made sure they kept close .The quarter was again a low-scoring with Baroue again staying ahead, this time by 32-29. In this quarter Baroue had managed to get only nine points while their rivals scored 10.

A tussle for supremacy was seen early in the last quarter that saw both the teams tied on 29-29 points. Baroue came up with back to back baskets from #24 Fesay Ronan and #4 Adrian Asistido while Black and White replied through #82 Galang Jason and #8 Hinampas Dexther and since both the teams were in the penalty zone Spirit Warriors swung the match to their side when they exhibited some accurate shooting from the free throw line and finished the game with a 6-point 56-50 victory. Spirit Warriors took the Best Player of the Game when it was given to #8 Dexther Hinampas.

Initial Standings

Rank Teams W L
1 Kuwait Steel 5 0
2 Black & White 4 2
3 Hilton Kuwait Resort 3 1
4 Holiday Inn 3 1
5 Safir International 2 2
6 Kuwait Energy 2 3
7 MOH 1 3
8 Spirit Warriors 1 3
9 Baroue-Pirates 1 4
10 N-Dash 1 4

FBL-BAP organizers would like to offer 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 Players of the Game. A very Happy Birthday to BAP Training Committee Chairman Toots Apostol from the FBL-BAP Family, JG and YMK.