Pinoy Resources out of title race at StreetballBrunei

PINOY RESOURCES gave their best but still fell short of keeping their title hopes alive in the StreetballBrunei 2010.

Needing to win by five points over Kiarong Tuesday Club (KTC) to stay in the title race, Pinoy Resources tried but failed as the final score read 70-68 at the final buzzer yesterday at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

Pinoy Resources lost to Hope 66-62 last Thursday, thus, requiring them to win by a five-point margin over KTC.

"Our overall performance for the tournament was good and we're still satisfied with the results as we never expected to make it this far," said Danny Felicilda, who led Pinoy Resources with a game-high of 26 points.

"We'll just move on from here and try to get better results in future competitions," added the MVP of the 3rd Manjaro Cup in October last year.

It was a dramatic finish to a game which saw both teams in a see-saw battle throughout the four quarters.

With KTC protecting a 62-61 lead going into the final two minutes, Pinoy Resources held a 7-0 run to wrest the upperhand at 68-62.

KTC went to sharp-shooter Bernie Toledo, who would score his team's last six points. With eight seconds left to play, Toledo faked a three-point shot and got fouled by Rommel Valmores for three shots at the charity stripe. He split his first two attempts and purposely missed his third but got the offensive rebound setting up his own shot for a baseline trey that sealed the Pinoy Resources fate.

KTC had four players in double figures with Armando Estoesta leading the way with 19 points followed by Marlon Cruz with 18 points.

Toledo finished with 15 points while Jess de Jesus chipped in 14 points.

KTC will now have to beat Hope by five points on Sunday to enter the final.

"We have a chance of making it but we'll have to focus on our defence as I think our offence is alright and we know that Hope is an offensive team," said Estoesta, in an interview with The Brunei Times after the match.

Regardless of a win or loss on Sunday, the KTC power forward is still satisfied with what the team's achieved so far.

"We came as a group to play for fun and didn't expect to be here. We've put up a good fight against some other good teams and we'll hope to make it to the final," said Estoesta.

Over at Group B, Sold defeated Jinks 75-58 to arrange a showdown with GILR Wildcats also on Sunday.

Hope will face KTC at 3pm while Sold will meet GILR Wildcats at 4.30pm.

The winners of these two matches will advance to the final scheduled for April 11 at 2pm.

The Brunei Times