KUWAIT CITY, Nov 12: At the conclusion of the elimination round of the on-going 2001 FSC-K Basketball Tournament being held at the Marina hard courts in Salmiya, top pick M/Y Nasser topped the team standings despite narrowly losing their 5th round game against M/Y Lady Lulwa. With their 4-1 win-loss slate, the red shirts of M/Y Nasser will be towing the other three teams namely Skippers, M/Y Loulwa-1 and M/Y Lady Lulwa into the semifinal round of the tournament organized by the Filipino Sailors Club in Kuwait (FSC-K) as part of their 2011 Sports Festival.

Kicking off the scheduled games of the 5th round was the exciting match-up between tournament favorite M/Y Nasser and M/Y Lady Lulwa who needs a victory to secure their place in the next round. Capitalizing on the poor shooting of the red shirts in the first quarter, and bannered by Gerry Gimena, Alfie Bait-it and Ian Monterola who combined for 19 points, M/Y Lady Lulwa built an early commanding 10-point lead. Before the end of the first half, Celo Abucayon, Noven Narag and Aron Segobia was able to cut down the lead of the green dribblers to 7 points 43-36 as the two teams prepare for the next two quarters. Knowing the caliber of their opponents who raked four straight wins prior to their meeting, the M/Y Lady Lulwa crew brought their advantage back to 10 points as they output scored M/Y Nasser 28-25 in the third canto. Just as expected, M/Y Nasser returned in the fourth quarter like a brand new team and slowly but surely crept closer to the beleaguered Lady Lulwa quintet. Fortunately, the Lady Lulwa greens have still something left in their arsenal and were able to turn back M/Y Nasser at the buzzer 101-99. Top point contributors of the game are as follows: M/Y Lady Lulwa (101), Gerry Gimena-31, Raul Rocaberte-21, Alfie Bait-it-17, Ian Monterola-17, Jeff Barnuevo-5, Emil Majestrado-4, Litoy Mago-4, Rojie Roxas-2; M/Y Nasser (99), Noven narag-37, Aron Segobia-28, Celo Abucayon-23, Leo Palanas-4, Lor Bernardo-4, Vernie Arcayera-3.

In the second game of the week, the food magnates of Americana closed their tournament stint with an 81-78 come from behind win over the winless Al-Sayer. Like their previous game, the Al-Sayer dribblers came out roaring finishing the half ahead by 7 points 35-28. With Jhong Navarro, Richard Barcena, Cris Mago and Bert Bernardo at the helm, Al-Sayer remained in control in the third quarter where they outplayed Americana 24-19 to take a 59-47 lead going to the final quarter of the game. The fourth quarter saw the Americana quintet of Bhong Bazar, Efren Agramon, Arven Tenerife, Oliver Jardin and Dhodz Lingo igniting a blistering comeback that caught Al-Sayer crew flat footed. Through a 34-19 output in the quarter, Americana went home with the victory. Leading scorers are as follows: Americana (81), Efren Agramon-25, Bhong Bazar-22, Arven Tenerife-16, Dhodz Lingo-11 and Oliver Jardin-7; Al-Sayer (78), Jhong Navarro-47, Richard Barcena-15, Francis Urbano-11, Cris mago-8, Bert Bernardo-7.

In the third and final game of the day, the black Skippers clinched their place in the semifinals by stopping the M/Y Loulwa-2 Sea Force 99-83 who nevertheless advanced to the semis despite the setback. Coming off a loss last week, the Skippers cannot afford the same outcome as it might jeopardize their trip to the next round. Led by Renan Manubay and Joseph Nogan who drilled in 16 and 14 points, the Skippers emerged comfortably ahead 40-23 after the first half. Spearheaded by the heads up play of Noli Abellera, Sherwin Sanchez, Arjey Lingo and Ed Agramon, M/Y Loulwa-2 managed to cut down the deficit to 6 points after three quarters 65-59. But as Manubay and Nogan stepped up once again for the black shirts, the Skippers went on to win the game via a 99-83 count. Top point makers of the game are as follows: Skippers (99), Renan Manubay-37, Joseph Nogan-30, Jhun Silagan-18, Alex Juan-12, Doming Ortega-2; M/Y Loulwa-2 (83), Sherwin Sanchez-28, Noli Abellera17, Arjey Lingo-15, Ed Agramon-14, Benjie Sta. Maria-5, Alwin Robles-2, Danny Gallardo-2. In the semifinal round, M/Y Nasser (Red) will play against M/Y Loulwa-2 (White) in game one that will be followed by game two between Skippers (Black) and M/Y Lady Lulwa (Green).
The final elimination round standings are as follows, (read as rank, team name, games won and games lost) 1. M/Y Nasser 4-1, 2. M/Y Loulwa-2 Sea Force 3-2, 3. Skipper 3-2, 4. M/Y Lady Lulwa 3-2, 5. Americana 2-3, 6. Al-Sayer 0-5.