Friendster wins McDonald’s-Tokyo Games 3x3 basketball title

Another year, another victory by a Filipino team in the 3rd annual McDonald’s-Lifestylez Jeddah 3-on-3 Basketball Championship.
Friendster beat defending champion MGI Thunderous in overtime 17-15 in a thrilling final on Saturday that climaxed the two-day competition featuring 24 teams divided into Pool A and Pool B with players of different nationalities.
The field was cut to the last 16 for the knockout stage after the eliminations in the first day Friday at the Sheraton Jeddah Hotel court here.
Friendster of Cris Melebo set up an all-Filipino final when it dispatched the taller and bigger Lebanese UnderDogs team of Pierre Najem, Ahmad Tartousi, Fadi Khiyimi and Ali Kubeisi 19-15 in the second semifinal.
Friendster was never seriously threatened with team captain Robby David and Tom Basa enjoying a good shooting night. A five-point lead at 17-12 with 2:25 to play cushioned the victory.
In the first semifinal, Thunderous had to dig deep in its arsenal to win against a Jeddah United side that boasts some of the best players in the city namely Salman Saleh, Mohannad Amir, Aiman Madani and Said Bahai.
Thunderous star player, former PBA Purefoods guard Boyet Bautista, showed his wealth of experience when he scored his team’s last four points including the game-winning basket from deep left corner in the dying seconds for a 27-25 victory.
Shifty guard Said penetrated the lanes to hit a layup that tied the game at 25-all, time down to 24 seconds, sparking a frenzied celebration from Jeddah United supporters.
It was a game that could have gone either way, but Bautista made sure they have the final say with that cold blooded shot from beyond the arc.
Under the 3X3 basketball rules, baskets scored from inside the arc (including free-throws) are worth one point, while those scored from beyond are worth two in the game played on a half-court with 12 seconds shot-clock. A game lasts 10 minutes though the organizers used 15 minutes for the semifinal and final of this increasingly popular form of basketball.
A local hip-hop group entertained the mostly Filipino crowd during the break between the last semifinal and final games.
With David and Basa in the Friendster lineup were high-leaping Morsi Akad and Christian Guimpatan. Besides Bautista Thunderous paraded the three towers of Joseph Ubalde, Brian Adaya and Raymond Matias for the highly anticipated matchup between the two Filipino sides.
To the delight of the crowd, both teams delivered basketball entertainment befitting a final match. From the get-go the excitement steadily built up.
David redeemed himself after missing two critical free throws by setting up the game-winning play in the overtime where the first team to score two points wins.
Akad gave Friendster its first point in the extra period with a twisting layup underneath the basket.
Friendster’s final offensive had David whipping a pass to Akad who under pressure from Matias inside the paint elected to make a feed to Basa. The three-point specialist and championship MVP Basa, getting the screen from Akad, drove to the basket for victory that was sealed when Friendster controlled the rebound after the Basa basket and milked the game clock.
Friendster and Thunderous fought hard against each other with the latter overhauling an early 6-2 deficit to tie the game at 13 on Ubalde basket. Akad split his free throws off Bautista to give Friendster a one-point lead, 14-13. Friendster regained possession following a shot-clock violation but but failed to convert although it kept the ball in play thanks to defensive rebounds by Akad and David who was fouled by Bautista in the process with 25 seconds to play only miss both tries from the free-throw line.
For a while Friendster looked headed to victory with a 15-13 spread until Ubalde hit a towering two to force overtime.
With the victory Friendster earned the right to represent Jeddah in the FIBA world tour event in China in August. In addition to the champion trophy Friendster received a cash prize of SR15,000.
Organized by Team-Up in partnership with major sponsors McDonald’s, Tokyo Games and Lifestylez this year’s event had the biggest number of entries in the history of the FIBA-sanctioned tournament.
McDonald’s aims to promote initiatives that gather young people together in line with McDonald’s vision to spread the culture of sports and a balanced life to the youth, according to Mohammed Alireza, deputy general manager of Reza Food Services Co. Ltd., exclusive McDonald’s franchisee for western and southern regions of the Kingdom, who attended the awarding ceremony. Total donations of SR40,000 from McDonald’s and sponsors benefitted the Friends of Jeddah Parks Foundation.