Badr Al Samaa edge past Avengers

In the game which everyone thought would be a lopsided match, Badr Al Samaa players found themselves in trouble as they trailed by as much as 19 points in the middle of the third quarter but eventually managed to snatch a 83-82 win from the depleted Avengers Team, courtesy of the winning shot by the rookie Karlo Sakai with just 10 seconds left in the game off a perfect pass from Michael Paulino. Though outnumbered, Avengers came out in high-spirits and erected an early 7-0 lead thru the efforts of Lito Jaymalin, Aaron Formoso and the high-leaping forward Dumapi. Playing coach Clarence Carlos scored the first 2 points for Badr team who also got an A performance from forward Henry Abling who led all scorers with 31 huge points and was later adjudged as the Best Player of the game. Avengers continued with their running plays till the third quarter attacking the defense of Badr team who missed the services of their key player Don Yabut and Mr. Intensity Rudy Castres. Badr team mounted a spirited rally in the closing minutes of the quarter led by last year's MVP Anton Tan (18 points) and Mark Sakai (12 rebounds), Norweil Dorado and sophomore Beib Gadin and Isao Tanigawa cutting the lead of Avengers to a single digit. The fourth quarter saw Badr slowly catching up with the Avengers, the former applying man-to-man defense. The game seemed to be on the side of the Avengers as L. Jaymalin drew the fifth and last foul of Anton Tan with still seven minutes left to play but the never-say-die attitude of Badr team kept them in the game. Abling converted a long jumper cutting the deficit to only 2 but Formosa quickly replied firing from beyond the arc on the last 1 minute. An undergoal stab by Abling and a fastbreak lay-up by Karlo Sakai put Badr within a point. An interception was completed by Paulino and handed a nifty pass to Karlo Sakai who drove to the basket for the winning shot to the delight of the crowd. Avengers had the chance to win the game as Dumapi drew a foul but missed both charities. The ball went to the hands of Karlo Sakai who tossed the ball in the air as time expired. Coach Clarence of Badr was quoted after the game "It is not how you start but it is how you finished the game-. The Filipino Muscat Ballers and FILCOSOC would like to thank the sponsors of this tournament, Nawras, Kuwait Airways, Badr Al Samaa, Mars International, PTTEP Eagles, Dunkin Donuts, ORPIC, Future Pipes Inc., Marahland, Venus Elecronics, & Khimji Rhamdas. Times Of Oman