BY EARL WRIGHT

JEDDAH — Defending champion Surianna got the job done in telling fashion when it brought down a listless Tamimi Brethren Braves 85-63 and sponsor team MoneyGram defeated Biboy’s Catering 105-102 in a pair of games that kicked off the championship weekend Thursday in the 1st MoneyGram FCBL Basketball Tournament at the Sheraton Jeddah Hotel Sport Complex court.

Surianna’s Filipino import Lisztian Amparado was chief in Surianna’s successful defense of the centerpiece Open Strong Division A crown, scoring 27 points in another unstoppable display.

Coach Hassan Zeineddein’s team came prepared for the big game in contrast to Tamimi, which looked flat and disjointed offensively.

As a result, the game was effectively out of reach for the Filipino side toward the end of the third quarter when Surianna uncorked a blistering offense to lead by as many as 21 points.

It was the first championship and second overall for Zeineddein in the big leagues at the Sheraton venue, having also steered the Lebanese team to a title-victory against Western Union coached by the legendary Filipino coach Boy Corsega in the past.

In the Inter-Commercial Reinforced Division B, MoneyGram was well in control against Biboy’s that missed the services of one of its mainstays, Joseph Ubalde, who had gone home to the Philippines for his annual vacation.

Hanco Olive put away the Inter-Commercial Non-Rated E2 Division championship. It beat Danya Foods 88-71 in the knockout final game.

The awarding ceremony was held after Thursday’s last game. The sponsor’s representative Ahmad Khasawneh, key account manager at MoneyGram, awarded the trophies and medals to the winners. Also present during the awarding was VIP guest Mohamed Bayoumi, a friend of the Filipino community and recipient of the prestigious Presidential Banaag Award.

Here is the list of awardees:

Open Strong Division A

Champion — Surianna, first runner-up — Tamimi Brethren, second runner-up — KFAFH; Mythical Five: Best Guards — Lisztian Amparado (Surianna), Ron Magat (Tamimi), Best Forwards — Kermo (Surianna), Christian Guimpatan (Tamimi), Best Center — Walid Khattab, MVP — Amparado, Best Coach — Hassan Zeineddein, Best Manager — Nazib Alkabani, Finals MVP — Tarik Jassouma.

Reinforced Division B

Champion — MoneyGram, first runner-up — Biboy’s Catering, second runner-up — Tropang ALJ; Mythical Five: Best Guards — Abdulnaser Ali (MoneyGram), Ziyad Pascual (Biboy’s Catering), Best Forwards — Rey Razon (MoneyGram), Guimpatan (Biboy’s), Best Center Morsie Akad (MoneyGram), MVP — Ron Magat, Best Coach — Ron Magat, Best Manager — Francis Magat, Finals MVP — Abdulnaser Ali.

Inter-Commercial Non Rated Division E2

Champion — Hanco Olive, first runner-up — Dania Foods, second runner-up — KAUST TT, third runner-up — SNKSJ, Mythical Five: Best Guards — Efren Fuentes (Dania Foods), Caparas (Hanco Olive), Best Forwards — Jigs Bulcase (Hanco Olive), Marmay (Dania Foods), Best Center — Avelino (Hanco Olive), MVP — Bulcase (Hanco), Best Coach/ Best Manager — Edgar Ainza (Hanco), Finals MVP — J-Jay Jumao-As (Hanco).