Vipers burst Oilers bubble in TFC Kingdom Cup

Don’t look now but FBA Vipers made a strong case as the team to beat in the TFC Kingdom Cup after winning a tough road game here last Friday.
The Vipers were pretty much in control of the contest but had to fend off a last ditch rally by the host team to score a 77-75 triumph before a partisan crowd of close to 3,000 at the Al-Nahda Sports Club.
The Vipers notched their first victory in the double round home-and-away semifinal series while dealing the erstwhile unbeaten Oilers their first defeat in the basketball roadshow that goes to Jeddah for Game 3 of the semifinals today at 5 p.m. at the Sheraton Sport Complex where the Vipers host Riyadh FAPS Stars.
The Oilers stepped onto the court looking to duplicate their semifinal opening 104-94 win at home against the Stars on Sept. 28. But the Vipers of Francis Magat would not oblige.
With the game on the line, former Happee Toothpaste point guard in the PBL Robby David delivered like a veteran that he is, scoring inside the paint and making a free-throw for the three-point play in the last 4.2 seconds that bailed the Vipers out of the fire.
Early on, 6-foot-5 Melvin Mamaclay had pumped life to the Oilers’ cause when he scored with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter to put his team in the lead 75-74 from five points down in the period.
The two teams battled hard from the beginning although the Vipers kept the lead in the end of each quarter. The Vipers posted their biggest lead of 10 points in the first quarter.
The Oilers breakthrough came when their star player Mamaclay came up with that potentially game-turning shot in the waning seconds.
The Oilers then regained possession after a Vipers turnover. Jessie Cabanayan flubbed a layup. The Oilers grabbed the offensive rebound only for Wennie Datungputi to also miss and the Vipers, coached by veteran mentor Boy “4GS” Corsega, were awarded possession when the ball went out of bounds on the Oilers frontcourt.
Then came David’s heroics. Raymond Matias saw David cut in the lane near the top of the 15-foot free-throw line and rifled the inbounds pass. David left his guard, ex-Purefoods player Cabanayan, drove to the hoop and made the bonus shot after drawing a foul from Datungputi.
With 2 seconds left in the gameclock the Oilers had a chance to win with a three or force overtime but Christian Guevarra’s follow up of a missed three-point attempt by Cabanayan was nullified as the final buzzer had sounded before the shot left Guevarra’s hands.
David finished the night with 24 points and five assists, Morsie Akad, another player to shine for the Vipers, had 17 points while center Joseph Ubalde added 13 points and seven rebounds. Power forward Matias, brother of Rain or Shine’s Ronnie Matias in the PBA, tallied 9 points and Ryan Aguam, who for the second straight game in the tournament did a good job on defense, chipped in 6 points.
Guevarra was the top man at Oilers with 22 points, Mamaclay made 16 points and eight rebounds while Datungputi had 14 points. A big letdown was the veteran Omar Asmad with only 6 points.
According to Corsega, they prepared well thinking that the Oilers beat the Stars in the previous game. He said, their fast plays, precise shooting and good defense made the difference.