Shan Kamarudheen, Business Development Manager (centre) of Travelex Qatar, the main sponsor of the tournament graces the official tossing of the ball together with a Pinoy Basketball of Qatar (PIBAQ) official and a representative from the Philippine Embassy, who is also a co-sponsor, at Al Gharafa Sports Hall.
DOHA: A grand parade of colours showcasing the entirely competitive brands of teams in two divisions with the appearance of sponsoring VIPs marked the opening of Travelex Qatar Cup 2013 of Pinoy Basketball of Qatar (PIBAQ) at Al Gharafa Sports Hall.
PIBAQ Chairman Pat Carido said the matches among teams for this season will go up in the next level as star players have been evenly distributed to make each teams especially in the professional Division 2 category equally strong.
“I am looking forward to a much tougher competition and it could be anybody’s ball game,” Carido said.
Highlighting the opening ceremony was the appearance of Shan Kamarudheen, Business Development Manager of Travelex Qatar, the main sponsor of the tournament.
It was Travelex Qatar which also became presenter of 4th GCC All-Filipino Club Championship held in Doha last April.
Representatives of the Philippine Embassy in Qatar and co-sponsor Boracay Filipino Restaurant also graced the event.
Competing for this season in Division 2 are Power Horse Energy Drink, TCC Stars-Gerry’s Grill, LBC Kentz, CEG International-Ertibat, Dukhan Ballers, Gilas Nahkowh and Mindoro Spartan while at the Non-PIBAQ category are MCM, Pampanga, Smeet Precast, KALEV, TFCMI and Arab Engineering Bureau.
A parade of the different teams donning their colourful uniforms with their beauteous muses in the front row carrying their banners kicked off the event which was attended by a sizeable basketball fans.
Action ensued after the programme with Dukhan Ballers trouncing LBC Kentz, 71-61, when the winning team pulled away in the dying minutes led by 12th Season MVP Rodel Mallari top scoring with 31 points.
Power Horse energy Drink routed Gilas Nahkowh, 74-59, in a tight match which saw both teams tied at low scoring 25-all in the first half.
Power Horse started to rally in the last five minutes to pull away with 15-point edge in the final buzzer.
TCC Stars-Gerry’s Grill were also triumphant against Mindoro Spartan 70-59, and just like the earlier winner, it broke away in the last five minutes to widen the edge at 11 points. In other game results of Non-PIBAQ category, MCM won over Smeet PreCast 74-56, Pampanga beat Kalev 92-42 and TFCMI slammed in 3 points to edge past Arab Engineering 67-64. THE PENINSULA
