LBC Cup: ABMS defend their way to basketball title

Jason Thomas

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, December 7, 2009

ABMS'S gritty defence won them the LBC Cup after beating Palm Cafe 94-82 in the final yesterday.

Kaka Espartero's men didn't exactly shut down Palm Cafe's Geve Leones in the final of the regular seven stars category but it didn't really matter.

Leones had a game-high 33 points at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat but it was not enough to lift Palm Cafe's to their second win over ABMS after beating the champions 96-78 in their last meeting on Nov 15.

"I am happy with our defence, especially in the paint," said Espartero, the ABMS coach. "Everyone played well, especially Mordeno (point-guard Don Dadis Mordeno). He was our general on the court today (Sunday), he really controlled everything."

Leading his team with 30 points, Mordeno distributed the ball well throughout the game and effectively dictated the tempo, especially in the latter stages of the match when AMBS were fighting to maintain their 10-point lead.

ABMS led 22-17 after the first quarter and were able to hold off Palm Cafe on the fast break in the second quarter, which they led 49-36.

As promised, Espartero put the Binas brothers Rhoy and Roldan to work on Leones.

Named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Philippine Independence Basketball Cup back in June, Leones has not lost any of his menace on the attack and led the team on the fast break drawing numerous fouls.

Despite missing many of his shots from the charity line, Leones was able to help Palm Cafe pull to within 10 points (44-34) in the last 30 seconds of the first half.

ABMS went on a dry spell at the start of the second half and Palm Cafe were able to pull to within five points mid-way through the third period at 59-54.

With Elvin Requintin adding height on the attack and helping with defensive duties on the other end of the court, Palm Cafe only trailed 67-64 heading into the final quarter.

But Palm Cafe sputtered on the attack at the start of the fourth quarter and their over-eagerness during the fast-break led to turnovers, which ABMS fully exploited.

Formerly known as Babes Boutique, ABMS's squad were composed of almost the same team that won the 2009 Brunei Pepsi Cup in August, and their familiarity with each other on the court showed.

Slowing the game down, ABMS pulled off several stops in a row to prevent their lead from dwindling even more, with centre Mark Del Mundo a force to be reckoned with under the basket.

Frustrated with their comeback being denied, tensions flared in the Palm Cafe camp and a fight nearly broke out between the two teams.

Shooting guard Francis Labitigan went coast-to-coast to solidify ABMS's lead at 84-71 with three minutes left, and not to be outdone, Leones did the same a minute later to pull back to less than 10 points (85-76).

Though Leones would score again to make it 86-78, ABMS would bag the next six points to kill the game.

ABMS hit two free-throws to regain a 10-point lead, Mordeno stole the ball in the next play and dished out for the assist, and the crowd was leaving by the time ABMS nailed two more free-throws to set the scores at 92-78 with one minute left.

Meanwhile, in the battle for third at 1.30pm yesterday, GILR Wildcats beat Aziz Latif and Company (ALC) 94-68.

In the 45 years old and above category, Young Once defeated MK Super Kids 67-45 to emerge champions on Thursday night.

The Philippines's ambassador to Brunei, Alexander B Yano, presented the trophies to the winners after the final yesterday.

Source: The Brunei Times | photos: BruneiBasketball.com