BY JEBB CABRIANA
RIYADH – The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh thought it is heading on to another victory for a 4-0 record. Little did it know, Fairmont Riyadh had a different plan in mind. Coming from a sorry loss against Kempinski last Oct. 10, Fairmont did a very special bounce back at the expense of the erstwhile unbeaten Ritz-Carlton in a shocking way. After leading the first canto, 21-19, Fairmont had some difficulty matching the firepower of Ritz duo’s Jeremias Nick Calago and Charles Valenzuela who maintained a 5-point lead in both second and third frames. However, the fourth canto saw Fairmont outscoring the Ritz-Carlton including a three-pointer from John Paul Bangalan which made the game’s outcome.
John Paul Bangalan posted 10 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds and was named Fawri’s Player of the Game. Jayson Tuano top-scored the Fairmont team with a huge 32 points, while Mark Angelou Arcilla added 14 points to bring Fairmont to a tie with Ritz-Carlton in the top spot with 3-1 record.
Jeremias Nick Calago and Charles Valenzuela posted 26 and 23 points, respectively, while Lou Reyes added 12 markers. Ritz-Carlton battled without playmaker Jeffrey Samson who is suffering from calf strain and Clarkton Browly who played few minutes in a quarter due to injury.
Vivienda vented its frustration from its downfall against the Ritz-Carlton to the hapless Holiday Inn Riyadh Meydan. Vivienda started slow with only 12 points in the first quarter. However, Leonil Lajato, Jan Franco Rempillo and company blew out the scoring board with a consistent over the 20’s quarterly output beginning the second quarter until the end, well outscoring the Holiday Inn. Leonil Lajato was named Fawri’s Player of the Game for his 20 points, 3 steals, 3 assists and 8 rebounds performance. Jan Franco Rempillo, Christian Alnas and Eric Lat chipped in with 17, 14 and 10 points, respectively, to improve Vivienda’s ranking to number one spot shared with Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont.
Holiday Inn Riyadh Meydan remained winless after four games. Marneil Ocampo led his team with 24 big points. Freddie Redulfin and Lester Perez added 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Scores:
Fairmont 80 — Tuano 32, Arcilla 14, Bangalan 10, Yuzon 7, Arguelles 5, Gacillos 5, San Andres 4, Dalusung 3, Dionido 0, Li 0, Saniel 0.
Ritz-Carlton 79 — Calago 26, Valenzuela 23, Reyes 12, Roque 7, Trongcoso 5, Abalos 4, Qanaq 2, Sales 0, Browly 0.
Quarters: 21-19; 38-43; 58-63; 80-79.
Vivienda 91 — Lajato 20, Rempillo 17, Alnas 14, Lat 10, Manalo 9, Dimaunahan 7, Mariano MA 6, Manila 3, Punzalan 2, Macuha 2, Falible 1, Mariano M 0, Simon 0.
Holiday Inn 70 — Ocampo 24, Redulfin 15, Perez 10, Herrera 8, Arandia 5, Ayson 3, Diamante 3, Maycong 2, Bualat 0.
Quarters: 12-16; 38-33; 64-58; 91-70.
