Kuwait Steel, Body Building, HEISCO into semis – H.P.I. Hyperians outlast KEO

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KUWAIT CITY, Oct 6: H.P.I. Hyperians, Kuwait Steel, Body Building and HEISCO won their inter-company quarter-final matches Friday afternoon at the ongoing PBLK 4th Conference basketball tournament at the Khaitan Sports Club.

H.P.I Hyperians’ Borj Alisbo finished with 30 points including 53-pointers while Ric Bumagat scored 18 with forward Ramos contributing 13 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the Hyperians’ effort against KEO.

Spurred on by Jun Soriano and Kris Fernandez, who got hot early on kickoff to shoot their side ahead 35-32 early into the opening half, KEO outscored Hyperians 11-9 in the first six minutes of the second half but failed to defend their advantage as the Hyperians roared back in a 24-7 run scripted by the game’s MVP Alisbo who finished with 30 points, to take the lead with four points, 48-44, two minutes to the close of the third quarter.

Missing four shots in quick succession, the KEO Bruno side’s coach was forced to call a timeout to steady his team, who understandably were anxious for a shot at the finals for the first time, should they overcome the energetic Hyperian side.  Helped by back-to-back jumpers by Alisbo, Hyperians again extended their lead to 6 points lead, 69-63 at the close of the third.

The KEO turned the screws further on the Hyperians following a few substitutions and a timeout in the final stretch. Soriano led a hard-nosed attack bombarding the Hyperians hoop repeatedly. The Hyperians’ defense withstood Soriano’s desperate but error-filled bid to bring his team all the way back.

Nunez’s fast break layup trimmed the Hyperians’ lead to 5 points at 75-70. But Rocreo jumped into the fray, hitting a hook shot which missed the hoop and landed in the hands of Alisbo who lobbed it from the arc for a three, then followed up with another 3 to finish the job for the Hyperians at 82-73, who row into the semifinals come next Friday.

On the other hand, N.A.S Matar Warriors lost 71-80 to Kuwait Steel in the next quarter-final duel, as Raymond Devera made the go-ahead layup with ten seconds left to seal the win for Kuwait Steel.

The Warriors took an early first quarter lead to close the quarter 2 points ahead, 19-17, Archie De Quina scripting the lead.

Steel rallied back into the fray two minutes into the second quarter as Devera, MVP of the game at 29 points, hit two free throws with seven seconds left to end the second quarter, nibbling down their deficit to one point. And following a timeout Steel inbounded to Joshua Castro, who dribbled to the lane and passed to Oyan, who slammed the ball with his right hand to extend the Steel lead to 44-40, this time jumping ahead by 4 points in aggregate.

The Warriors ruined their chances with a series of turnovers in the final stretch and effectively turning the game over to Kuwait Steel who made the most of the opportunity, with the help of Devera, to glide home to a nine-point lead, 31-22 run to finish the final quarter, thus making the final score line 80-71 to clinch a win into the semifinals.

In the other inter-company quarter-final games, Body Building won 58-51 over KALEXCO while K.A.I lost 71-80 to Heisco in the final game of the day.

By Iddris Seidu

Arab Times Staff

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