Afima Express beat Team Wayne 'A'

RONALD BORROMEO'S two clutch free-throws in the dying seconds of last night's dramatic 2009 Brunei Pepsi Cup game sealed a 80-78 win for Afima Express over Team Wayne 'A'.

Breaking the hearts of the Team Wayne 'A' supporters at the Brunei Basketball Association (BBA) court in Batu Bersurat, the loss was the team's second in a row after their 66-51 defeat to Kitchen of Jasmine on Monday night.

Though Team Wayne 'A's chances of making it to the next round of the competition are now over, for Afima Express, their campaign is just getting started.

"This was our first match, so a win was important," said Afima Express' coach Franklin Agarin.

"It was very close and we were down for most of the fourth quarter but I was never scared we would lose. I was confident in my players," added Agarin, whose side were trailing by four points (73-69) in the final two minutes.

Though it was an even game — Afima Express led 20-13 after the first quarter but were tied on 37 going into the dressing room — the real action came in the last couple of minutes.

Lim Hong Keong's basket with 37 seconds left made it 76-73 to Team Wayne 'A' but Jerold Pascua would step up for Afima Express to score the next four points to hand this team the lead for the first time since they fell behind early in the fourth quarter — which they started with a 62-60 advantage.

Bagging two crucial free-throws amid boos and cat-calls by the partisan Team Wayne 'A' crowd, the small forward would stun the team's fans once again when he stole the ball in mid-court and dribbled past two players to score a lay-up with only eight seconds left.

With the scoreboard now reading 77-76 to Afima Express, Team Wayne 'A' fouled Borromeo to win the ball back, a wise move since Borromeo could only sink one of his two free-throws.

A key player for his team who had no qualms about stepping up to take crucial shots, Team Wayne 'A's Tan Ye Wei proved his importance once again when he brought the ball up the length of the court and scored with a lay-up to even the scores at 78-78 with only half a second left in the game.

Though crowd were on their feet rejoicing, Team Wayne 'A' were without the ball and were forced to foul an Afima Express player again if they wanted to win it back.

Borromeo was the one who stepped up, and this time, it was two out of two from the charity line.

In the other game, KOF defeated Chua Auto Mobile 80-49. It was the second straight win for KOF who won their opening game against Gadong Boy 86-65.

Today's games will see Sally Beauty Saloon take on Muara Gas in the women's category at 7:00pm while Auto Jaya will face White Heaven at 8:30pm in the men's division. White Heaven are coming off a 73-59 win over De'Lightz Cafe Shop.(JT04)

The Brunei Times