JEDDAH, 12 April — While controlling a record for the most championship appearances, United Naghi’s grand slam project is on its final stage. They put in place everything necessary for a projected three consecutive crowns by sweeping Sadafco, 85-67, in Game One of the best-of-three series of the United Yousef Naghi Open Basketball Classic at the Hafil court in Jeddah.
Organized and managed by the Mindanao Federation Basketball Association, the event has the exclusive backing of United Yousef Naghi Electronics Division, the sole distributor of Philips, LG, Nardi, Fogoes Meireles and Ariston electronics and home appliance brands in the Kingdom. The United Bangsaranao Council has also a hand in making the event possible, and is under the auspices of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah.
Sadafco, despite the effecting absence of spitfire Raymund Suarez, managed to put up a decent fight early in the first half.
And with coach Danny Lequin reminding his boys to display a “no mercy attitude”, Sadafco’s strength got neutralized, with its scoring option weakened.
And even after having slammed Sadafco, United Naghi has already set the record as the league’s only unbeaten team with the longest winning streak. “The credit really goes to the players. They are the most special players in the league today and special people achieve special things. There are three strong candidates for the MVP but they have been so selfless with each other. You do not see anyone of them showing that he wants more than the others and that’s what makes them so special”, coach Danny Lequin quoted after the game.
In the inter-company open finals, fast emerging Binidayan Madalum took a big step toward boosting its championship morale with a resounding 86-76 rout of BISA Solid North. Binidayan gave the Ilocanos a harsh treatment, as if they were the ones chasing a deficit away, with Leo Almoite joining Rey Buhat in a searing show of offensive force to stretch the lead to 45-29 at half-time. Binidayan maintained their stranglehold of the lead and went on a scorching burst, bucked a vicious comeback by their opponent and unleashed a killer run in the stretch for a ten-point lead.
Binidayan’s triumph is by far the best game they played but raised questions on their ability to move ahead for the crown, while incurring the wrath of some deserting players. Solid North’s strong show of confidence that they are still the team to watch remained a tremendous threat, as Binidayan is scheduled to provide the answer in game two.
Binidayan also emerged triumphant in the inter-Maranao division. They pulled their acts together in the final half to escape from the brink of disaster over Big Bang Malabang, 87-85. After several lead changes in the first session, Binidayan ended up trailing by five points, 34-39. But they generated a bigger response in the final half behind the guns of Alex Tampi who tallied 35 points, including the last seven points that spelled the difference in favor of Binidayan.
In the Arab News versus Al Bayt Décor knockout game, the newsmakers broke the century mark to claim the inter-company bonafide’s third best team with a 110-102 score. Paul Garcia and Sandy Dalit scored the bulk of the output, with the lanky Abbas dominating the boards and scored several put backs. On the other hand, Ocampo connived with Padua and Dimapatoy and gave Arab News strong opposition before Al Bayt DÈcor eventually bowed out.
Game Two in the best of three series has been scheduled on Friday, with United Naghi pitting on Sadafco at 7:30 p.m. Aiming for a possible rubber match, BISA Solid North will unleash its full might over Binidayan at 9:00. The regular weekly prize draws will take place right after the games, courtesy of United Yousef Naghi Electronics Division.
