Golden Kestrel Tour dominate Fumakilla Basketball C’ships
KOTA KINABALU: Golden Kestrel Tour Sdn Bhd emerged as the champions in the 1st Fumakilla Basketball Championships, which ended at the Kota Kinabalu Community Centre here on Sunday.
Powered by import Argel Mendoza of the Philippines, Golden Kestrel Tour were too good for Sanaja Sdn Bhd and registered a comfortable 113-68 victory.
Golden Kestrel Tour’s consistency in getting double figures in each of the four quarters allowed them to tame Sanaja’s spirited fightbacks, especially in the second and fourth quarters.
Golden Kestrel Tour got off to a bright start by winning the opening quarter 27-8 and although Sanaja fought back to win the second quarter 18-16, it was not enough as the former led 43-26 for a 17-point advantage.
There was no stopping Golden Kestrel Tour as they took the third quarter with a massive 39-9 win to improve their lead to 82-35.
With the title more or less secured, Golden Kestrel Tour refused to take a step back in the fourth and final quarter which they lost 31-33.
It did not matter as they went on to win with a final score of 113-68.
In the third and fourth place play-off, Abadi Trading defeated KKBBS 52-47.
Meanwhile, Mendoza’s inspirational display for Golden Kestrel Tour saw him the win the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
The other individual titles went to Jonathan Wong of the Roosters Basketball Club for Three-Point Shooting champion and Tan Wei Long of Abadi Trading for the Slam Dunk contest.
Liu Fui Fui, the political secretary of Youth and Sports Minister Frankie Poon, represented the minister at the closing ceremony cum prize presentation.
The week-long tournament was organised by the Damai Sports Centre with the Penampang Basketball Association as the co-organiser.