Dammam, Saudi Arabia – Juanito Fernandez scored five of his 11 points in the last quarter including a nail baiting free throw shot in the last two minutes, and Abdulla Fouad held off a furious rally by the Al Hoty Group for a thrilling 65-62 victory Friday, putting the Faisalco-AFIC team in the winning column in the Eastern Province Basketball League here.
Al Falak System Solution and Consulting together with Al Enaizi Enterprises are the major sponsors of the Advisor’s Cup supported by Abdulla Fouad, Hoshan Office Automation, Phuket Restaurant and Cecile’s Catering with the cooperation of McDonalds, The Filipino Channel (TFC) and Saudi FAL Controls.
“It’s a big step for us”, said Abdulla Fouad Team Manager Andy Princena. “It shows a lot of character on our part to come out with a victory”, he added in a phone interview.
Al Hoty trailed by eight points 27-35 at halftime and 13 after three quarters, but got within two 62-64 in the last two minutes.
“We had to play from behind and we could never get over the hump,” Al Hoty veteran and team captain Boy Sese said. “We gave them a little pressure in the second half and they got a little frantic. We should have been doing it that the whole game,” he added.
AFIC players Benedict Santos finished with 12 points and four assist and teamed up with Carlito Padilla with 10 points to shut down Al Hoty in fast break plays for most of the three quarters.
Nelson Sambajon scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth period for Al Hoty and had a chance to tie the game in the last two minutes but the AFIC team defended well in the lane to hold him scoreless until the final buzzer.
Sese added 14 points, Jimmy Reloj and Gilbert Curva chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively for Al Hoty’s second defeat in as many outings.
Meanwhile, Gulf Consolidated Company Power Chargers continued their Cinderella run with another win via a 73-57 victory against title favorite Jarir Bookstore. Grand slam seeking Dammam Warriors defeated Leytenos 93-86, Al Mojil surprised McDonalds’ team 84-53, the Daggers team overpowered Gulf Real Estate 95-39, FEMCO nailed their first win against Al Jazirah Ford 73-47, and Saud Consult won over Al Hoty Calibration via forfeiture.