Honda wins thriller in SAGCO Cup

By KMA Perera JEDDAH - Honda team showed its fighting spirit, wining a thrilling game 81-75 against Geec.Fuji in the SAGCO Cup 2016. Recovering after the previous week’s loss, and falling behind in both the first and second quarters in this game, Honda players rallied back by attacking in the third and fourth quarters. Its geared up forwards, D. Juanites and E. Rodrigues made valiant efforts in the victory and the Fuji couldn’t come up to the challenge. Honda, is now one game away from securing its berth in the semifinals. It is assured an entry into the last four in B Division even with a marginal loss in its next game against Jeddah Cable. Salem Husni, undefeated now in four straight games, has already secured its spot in the semifinals. It made short work of Aquat to win 83-69. R. Datu was adjudged the Player of the Game with 18 points. PCMC was the surprise winner 84-82 against BRC. The later lost the game when its star player Hurley Bravo was made to sit on the bench. The rest of the players were unable to hang on to its lead. The second qualifier in the same group could not be decided, as Arrow Juice and PCMC both have one more game each to play. In A Division, Sunbullah secured an easy 82-64 victory against SAGCO2. Sunbullah with a clean sheet (5 wins from 5 games), stands a strong contender for the cup final. It awaits the second place finisher from the other group in A Division for the semifinal encounter. But, for home fans and SAGCO2, it was a heartbreak, as their second team was eliminated from the tournament. E. Fuentes with 29 points won back-to-back Best Player award. NAPICO came out on top 69-65 against Pinehill in a thriller. A couple of drastic errors in the passing game decided the game against the Pinehill. Both teams have one more game left and that would decide which side goes to the semifinals. Caravan secured a huge 101-66 win over Tetrapack. A. Ebina was named the Best Player with 29 points. The weekend’s highest score was achieved by Laput of Tetrapack. He scored 36 points. Scores Honda 81 - D. Juanites 18, E. Rodrigues 17. Geec.Fuji 75 - A. Baraquia 22, M. Gaviola 17. Salem Husni 83 - R. Datu 18, E. Almirante 12. Aquat 69 - J. Banzon 32, B. Garzon 17. PCMC 84 - J. Alquesor 19, T. Soriano 18. BRC 82 - T. Ellie 25, H. Bravo 21. Sunbullah 82 - E. Fuentes 29, D. Munez 10. SAGCO2 B - Magadia 18, M. Taylor 15. NAPICO 69 - R. Rarama 18, J. Caniezo 13. Pinehill 65 - G. Lugue 18, G. Dela Cruz 11. Caravan 101 - A. Ebina 29, Pangilinan 25. Tetrapak 66 - Laput 36, Linugao 11.