JEDDAH — Jeddah Basketball League (JBL) opened its first conference of 2017, dubbed as Titan Watch–JBL Basketball Tournament, last Friday at the Khalidia basketball court here. Participating teams paraded in their resplendent uniforms during the opening ceremony which was presided by JBL President Mohammed Rasheed Suyat and Tournament Director Donald Doloso. Ahmad Peradilla of Jeddah Dawah Center gave an inspirational Islamic invocation to open the tournament. JBL main speaker Sheikh Said Al-Ghatani of Mandoubiyah Islamic Center made the welcome address. Ali Lumanog of JDC Veterans team led the Oath of Sportsmanship. The awards for the Best Team in Uniform went to Tetra Pak (Frederick Vasquez), ICTHUS (Dennis Elmenzo) and Clash of Friends (Noel Quito) in the Inter-Company division. Wasalak 40's (Fred Concepcion) won in the 40 & above category. Best Mascot awards went to JDC Veterans, Tetra Pak, Knights and ICTHUS. In the opening game, Eagles of coach Rey Maddatu beat PICE 40's 96-87. The winner played good offense throughout the game. Bong Umlas top scored with 34 points for the winner and was adjudged the Titan Watch best player of the game, while Lasaca made 30 points for the loser. This tournament is principally sponsored by Titan Watch of Al-Hussaini & Al-Yahya Investment Group (Othman Al-Hussaini). The co-sponsors are Giordano Fashions (Ahmadullah), Uncle Majid's Rice & Toppings (Francis Odinar Magat) and Ric Printing. Wasalak of coach Fred Concepcion defeated Clash of Friends 90-85. Soliva collected 24 points for the winner and was named the JBL best player of the game. Gadiana scored 28 points for the loser. Al-Arabi Décor of Norman Quito won over Tetra Pak 84-69. Mamangun poured in 31 points for the winner and was selected as the Giordano Watch best player of the game. Reoladas top scored with 16 points for the loser. Violet defeated Yellow 97-93 in the Juniors Division Saturday. Herian Sena scored 24 points for the winner and was adjudged the Titan Watch best player of the game. Osama led the loser with 28 points. Green beat Gray 95-88 in the Midget Division. Firmalo amassed 40 points for the winner and was named the Giordano best player of the game. Michael Maddatu chipped in with 39 points for the loser. Gray beat Green 100-91 in the Juniors/Seniors Mix division.
