"All the players combined well, that is why we won"

Photo Caption: The Qatar team “Falcon” celebrates after their victory in the GCC All-Filipino Basketball Championship.

By Joey Aguilar (Doha)

 

Qatar combined individual skills and choking defence to beat Dubai in the final of the 4th GCC All-Filipino Basketball Championship on Friday night at the Al Gharafa Sports Club. The hosts won 81-69.

It was a close fight during the first quarter where both teams tried to sneak easy baskets from the field. However, Qatar’s Ronnie Cajayon’s three point shot in the middle of the second quarter gave the team a five-point lead, 31-26.

A second three-pointer from Michael Paderes also widened Qatar’s lead to 10.

Coach Noli Raagas told Gulf Times that he fielded defensive players when the lead was cut to three, 51-48, a few seconds before the end of the third quarter.

“All the players combined well, that is why we won,” he said.

Raagas stressed that their strategy was to really focus on defence and then look to attack in the second half. “Dubai’s weakness is that they don’t have a good alternate ball handler so we took advantage of that,” he said.

In the fourth quarter, Qatar enjoyed a 62-52 lead but a three-point shot stopped their rally. However, Dubai coach Jhun Wenee Paule was slapped with a technical foul after abusing the referee in a contested call with more than five minutes remaining.

Qatar took this opportunity to maintain the momentum until the few remaining seconds of the last quarter.

Cajayon said their 10-point lead added more pressure on Dubai who then suffered from unforced errors in the fourth quarter.

“Even though we know that we are leading, we continued our attack,” he said. “And we did not give them the chance to attack.” He told his team to work hard in pushing for the offence to widen the lead.

Paderes, who led his team to the championship, was declared as the Most Valuable Player. Hundreds of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) cheered for Qatar and stayed until the midnight to watch the championship match.

Vice consul Melvin Almonguera and culture attaché Richard Billedo from the Philippine embassy led the awarding ceremony. Pat Carido, president of the Pinoy Basketball in Qatar (PIBAQ), has announced that the next international competition will be in Dubai. More teams from Saudi Arabia are expected join the event.

He lauded the players and coaches for giving their best and played like brothers, avoiding any confrontations which led to an “injury free tournament”.

He also thanked the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) for spearheading the conduct of the tournament under FIBA rules.

“We were able to achieve our goal which is to have a healthy and friendly competition and most of all, to entertain OFWs in Qatar,” he said.

The championship match was also graced by officials of the Qatar Basketball Federation.