Ritz Carlton, InterCon enter Inter-Hotels semifinals

The stage is set for the semifinal following last week’s conclusion of elimination round games with Ritz Carlton securing the fourth and last spot in the 25th Annual Riyadh Inter-Hotels Basketball Tournament at the Sheraton Riyadh Hotel & Towers rubberized court here.
Ritz Carlton won a contentious game against Marriott Riyadh 71-69 to reach the next round on a 2-3 win-loss card while InterContinental Riyadh Hotel also advanced after going 2-1 during the week, losing to Sheraton Riyadh Hotel & Towers 88-85 and winning against Marriott 105-88 and Makarim Riyadh 76-71.
Marriott, which actually played three games in the final week of eliminations, tied Ritz-Carlton on 2-3 but failed to make it by virtue of the winner over the other rule.
Sheraton and defending champion Faisaliah finished 1-2 after the eliminations with identical 4-1 cards with InterCon on 3-2. Makarim, the other team in the fold, was winless in five games.
The semifinal openers today pit Faisaliah against InterCon at 5:30 p.m. and Ritz Carlton against Sheraton at 7 p.m.
The game between Amr Gado’s Ritz Carlton and Leo Valencia’s Marriott was stopped with 10.7 seconds left in the third quarter and the score tied at 53 due to the tension caused by Clarkton Browly of Ritz and Jericho dela Cruz of Marriott and both players were suspended at the resumption of the game after a gap of three days gap to cool things down.
At resumption Marriott had split free throws by Alfiedar Musa to end the third quarter at 54-53 to Marriott. It was an up and down tight defense and offense for both teams at the start of the last quarter. With 30.2 seconds to play the score stood 69-66 in favor of Ritz. A desperation shot from beyond the arc by Izie Agapay of Marriott tied the score again at 69, time down to 15.2 seconds. Duds Attip stole the ball for Marriott but a passing error led to big man Chowking Yee hitting the winning shot for Ritz Carlton.
Marriott’s win came at the expense of Makarim 100-90 in a game where Marriott led all the way.
The InterCon boys of Dondon Mengote made Marriott’s joy a shortlived one when they won their matchup. Jayrold Apas did the most damage on Marriott with 31 points.
The tournament for the benefit of the Children of UNICEF enjoys the generous support of Paul C. Dunphy, Sheraton Riyadh Hotel & Towers GM and Sizzler House through Randy Assistin.
The scores:
Ritz Carlton (71) C. Yee 27, C. Browly 12, D. Barnachea 10, M. Gabao 5, J. Manalo 5, A. Coronia 5, J. Tulao 4, I. Guarin 2, L. Choco 1
Marriott (69) A. Musa 17, J. Dela Cruz 16, I. Agapay 10, J. Gallardo 9, D. Attip 6, R. Baldevia 3, R. Antonio 2, N. Miraato 2, R. Sison 2, R. Banting 2
Refs.: Robert Pineda, Chris Baculay and Joel Villana
Sheraton Riyadh (88) M. Casubuan 25, E. Campo 21, J. Concepcion 18, J-R de Guzman 13, R. Go 5, T. Frias 4, A. Delos Reyes 2
Intercon (85) J. Apas 41, J. Corpus 16, M. Castillo 13, R. Mendoza 6, O. Waban 5, L. Dela Rama 4
Refs: Raul Caluracan, Upang Renozon
Marriott (100) A. Musa 38,J. Dela Cruz 20, Izie Agapay 11, D. Attip 9, R. Baldevia 8, J. Gallardo 5, Y. Alnajjar 5, E. Salac 2, E. Cordoves 2
Makarim (90) L. Herrera 28, D. Ramirez 24, J. Villanueva 17, F. Limin 7, G. Bordane 6, O. Benolarao 4, L. Polon 2, R. Gutierez 2
InterContinental (105) J. Apas 31, J. Corpus 18, R. Almario 18, J. Penoraya 13, R. Mendoza 12, L. Dela Rama 9 M. Castillo 4
Marriott (88) J. Dela Cruz 26, B. Silva 16, R. Baldevia 16, I. Agapay 12, J. Gallardo 9, D. Attip 7, E. Cordoves 2