Carrier triumphs to level series with Nunungan

Carrier Juffali picked apart Nunungan Lanao Lakers with a strong inside game and went on to post an emphatic 93-85 victory that leveled the best-of-three for the Inter-Commercial Open Rated championship at 1-1 in the 1st Friendi Basketball Tournament presented by all new WPBL at the Ahmed Khaki Sports Complex (Orca) court here. Beanpole Ubalde shot a game-high 21 points, Matias scored 17 while Yutuc and Bryan Adaya added 13 and 12 respectively as Carrier dominated the second half, pounding the ball inside to the basket and crashing the offensive boards for second chance points, as it took the measure of Nunungan which suffered a double whammy with an injury to ever dependable swingman Christian Guimpatan, who led his team with 28 points. Guimpatan was helped off the court after injuring his knee in the closing seconds of the game that drew another banner crowd on Thursday. Fil-Am James Smith was held below his average at 18 points, Mark Basa disappeared after frolicking from beyond the arc in the first half and the sweet-shooting Diego Domalogdog could only muster 6 points for Nunungan. Jorge Pascual and Guimpatan hit 10 unanswered points to start the second quarter and stake Nunungan to a 27-21 lead that grew to 37-28 on a Basa three-pointer before Carrier regrouped and wrested the lead at 42-41 at the end of the period. Matias, named Best Player of the game, scored consecutive putbacks during an 8-0 tear that gave Carrier its first sizeable lead at 57-51 with 4:36 to play in the third period. And with big Elamparo, who along with Ubalde, Matias and Adaya comprise the Four Towers at Carrier, and Panganiban joining the fray the Aircon makers were never seriously threatened, taking an 11-point lead, 90-79 into the last 1:34 of the game. The 14th week of the tournament also saw Marogong and Saudi Binladen Group D’ Inspectors in strong start to their championship series in the Inter-Commercial Open Non-Rated A and B. Marogong, getting 25 points from Jay Liam and 20 from Abbas, brought down Moulinex 92-86 in the fourth game Thursday while D’ Inspectors used a good teamwork to beat Friendi Mobile 99-87 in the nightcap Friday. Malik Ampuan and Marmay each scored 11 points for Marogong. Marmay and Allan Cotongan delivered the heaviest blows for SBG with 22 and 18 points while Castillo and Maxilum each added 14. SBG finished strong against a team that, on paper, had the name players on its lineup. The outcome was never in doubt after SBG seized a 14-point lead, 90-76, on a baseline drive by Marmai with 3:16 to play. Pascual and Cruz scored 21 and 20 points at the helm of Friendi, which received 19 points from Batioco and 10 from Osorio. Greenland plays for the Open Non-Rated C championship against either BTC Baud Telecom and Shakba Makkah Taif, which face off in a knockout game today. Housekeeping A all but secured the first championship berth by beating Housekeeping B 87-75 in the first game Thursday in the 10th KFAFH Inter-Department organized by United Filipino Workers of King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital (UFWORK). The win improved Housekeeping A’s immaculate record to 10-0. Portering got the inside track to the second final spot, beating Nursing 81-61 and boosting its record to 8-1. In other games, Admin (7-3) crushed CSSD 103-52, Housekeeping B rebounded Friday against BME 68-50, Engineering A defeated AATC 75-70 and Engineering B edged Warehouse 51-51.  From: arabnews