Castro Lead Lakers to Shell Victory
By Benny Ang

Bandar Seri Begawan -It was Castro's day yesterday in the see-saw match that saw thrills and spills.

 With Bobby Parks out of the game with an elbow injury, his fellow import Isac Castro stepped up to play the hero's role in guiding his side Chop Eng Seng Keo L.Mark Lakers to a crucial 103-98 victory in overtime over Komala One Stop LSL last night in the 3rd Shell Rimula Ultra Invitational Challenge Trophy Basketball Tournament 2003.

Parks, who was looking like he might take over the game, went down hard in the second quarter and was unable to take any further part in the game.

With the game see-sawing back and forth, the loss of Parks looked like it might sway the game in Komala's favour but for the late heroics of Castro who eventually finished with 26 points and eight rebounds.

First he sank a crucial three-pointer to tie the game up and with just 3.2 seconds left, he coolly fired in two free-throws to send the game to overtime after being fouled having just come up with the crucial offensive rebound himself.

The overtime period was also a close one but the rest of the supporting cast of the Lakers did their bit to push their side over the finish line, getting the crucial basket when needed while Komala did themselves no favours by failing to rebound at the opportune moments.

Komala were themselves hampered by the fouling out of their own American import Greg Lockhart in the fourth quarter but having already suffered two losses, this latest setback may have already jeopardised their chances of reaching the semifinals.

The Australian Keith Krause did his best with 36 points and nine rebounds but with the exception of Lockhart with 20 points and T.C Yean with 19 points, the rest of the side did very little to enhance their side's chances of notching that first win.

Yean in particular spurred his side on with some accurate three-point shooting to keep his side's chances of claiming their first win alive.

CESK L.Mark Lakers now have two wins to their name after suffering a narrow loss to the Goh Brothers Goldsmiths on Sunday afternoon and their race to reach the semifinals is now back on although a lot will depend on how quickly Park, recover- from his injury.

Last night's match, though, was the first to reach overtime and represented a growing trend of close matches in this tournament after a few lopsided matches early on. The win for the Lakers also leaves a few teams jammed in the middle of the table battling for a place in next week's semifinals. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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