DOHA: A face-off in the championship round between rivals Jireh Eagle and Pampanga Dragon in last year’s Aspirant’s Division tournament looms anew as both separately thwarted their opponents with wide double digit margins in the semifinal games of Pinoy Basketball of Qatar over the weekend.
Jireh Eagles whipped Doha Desert with 22-point advantage, 78-56, to claim the first slot for the championship round while Pampanga knocked down 3 Stars & A Sun with a 13-point edge, 90-77, in the other game to fill up the remaining slot. Both teams are expected to go all out in their rematch in another nail-biting saga of the championship game. Jireh is seen to be hungrier for the crown after their big sorry loss marred by the pressure in the last 12 seconds of their game last year.
The tandem of Markley Parico and William Quinones of Pampanga who led their team with scores of 31 and 20 points, respectively, was the major pain for their depleted opponent.
Jireh’s Mar Mercado single-handedly dominated the game for his team with 30 points complemented by Mac Loremia with 13 points to frustrate Doha Desert all throughout the game with consistent 20-point commanding lead.
In the Seniors Open Division, Doha Cables takes on Ooredoo in the championship round after both clubs separately thumbed down their opponents in the semifinal round. Both finalists teams have to overcome the big scare in the deciding games after their opponents managed to eke out a win in their first encounter of the twice-to-beat advantage semifinal series.
Doha Cables overwhelmed Batang Sanna with a 14-point edge, 75-61, while Ooredoo nailed Vintage, 85-63, with a convincing passion by pulling away with 20 points lead in the latter part of the third quarter. The championship will see action from old rivals in the hardcourt, former RP Youth standout Jojo Longalong of Ooredoo and former MVP Ruben Mendoza of Doha Cables.
The Ooredoo 20th Season Ambassador’s Cup of Pinoy Basketball of Qatar (PIBAQ) is presented by Alicafe. The tournament is brought by Qatar Basketball Federation and the Philippine Embassy and co-sponsored by Diana Jewellery and Watches, Power Horse Energy Drink, Control-P Seventh Spectrum GO Sports, Philippine Airlines and Shuttersbug Photography. A round trip ticket to Manila to Doha will be given away by Philippine Airlines to a fan during the championship game for which a raffle draw will be held on Friday.The Peninsula
