Vipers oust Oilers to seal title clash with Stars

The stage is set for the much awaited finals in the TFC Kingdom Cup basketball tournament after FBA Jeddah Vipers won their knockout game against Dammam UFBF Oilers 84-78 before a wildly cheering crowd at the Sheraton Jeddah Sport Complex court last Friday. The Vipers traveled to Riyadh last night for the first game of the best-of-three championship series against the well rested Riyadh FAPS Stars, who ended the home-and-away semifinal series on 3-1. The Vipers finished on 2-2 and the Oilers on 1-3. The game is set for 3 p.m. today at the Al Yamama Hotel basketball court. The Stars’ victory over the Oilers two weeks ago paved the way for the all-important no-tomorrow game Friday. To the delight of basketball fans that came out in full force at Sheraton the Vipers of manager Francis Magat and veteran coach Boy “4GS” Corsega did not disappoint, holding their collective nerves and not losing focus when the chips are down. The Vipers erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter and overcame a 29-point 12-rebound performance from Melvin Mamaclay to pull the well-deserved victory. The Vipers now are two victories away of completing their run to the prestigious title that would give them bragging rights as the best Filipino basketball outfit in the Kingdom. The quartet of Joseph Ubalde, Robby David, Mursie Akad and Ron Magat struck hardest as the Vipers got their transition game going to overturn the Oilers’ 72-58 lead that the visitors forged behind a torrid run bridging the third and fourth quarters. Ubalde scored 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and was the central figure when the Vipers uncorked two big runs in the period. He also had 12 rebounds. David whose solid play at the point held the team together also enjoyed a good shooting night with 18 points to go with 6 rebounds and 6 assists, Akad scored 15 and Magat had 13 while hounding Oilers point guard Jessie Cabanayan on the defensive end at payback period. A 10-0 run which David started with a three followed by consecutive baskets by Ubalde and a three-point spurt by Akad pulled back the Vipers to within five points at 72-68. The visitors were still up by 8, 78-70, with 4:31 to play before David drained another three that hit nothing but net to tie the count at 78. Two turnovers by Christian Guevarra and Baltazar and a critical miss by Mamaclay as he began to tire in the last two minutes told on the Oilers and the hosts closed out the game with a 14-0 run. To his credit Mark Elamparo held his own on defense against Mamaclay and had 7 blocks and 5 rebounds, while Bryan Adaya added 9 points with 6 rebounds. Omar Asmad had 18 points and Guevarra 10 for the Oilers. The game was not without drama as Jeddah’s John Rebulado and Wayne Datungputi of Dammam were ejected from the court while Viper Raymond Matias was whistled for unsportsmanlike foul. From : Arabnews