Bandar Seri Begawan - After a three-day break, the 3rd Shell Rimula Ultra Invitational Challenge Trophy kicked off again yesterday afternoon at the National Indoor Stadium with three matches in store for the crowd.

The closest game of the afternoon came when the surprising Goh Brothers Goldsmiths took the defending champions Suncity Dragons to the limit but came up just short eventually losing by just one point.

The final scoreline was 76-75 in favour of the Dragons but they were breathing anything but fire yesterday as the gutsy crew from Goh Brothers gave them everything they could handle.

The only player to turn up on offence for Suncity was Jomar Tierra whose 22 points was huge for the defending champions.

Their inside presence Lonnie Thomas was once again a factor with 19 points and 17 rebounds but beyond that duo, there was very little help elsewhere.

Goh Brothers was led by the slowly improving Corey Brown who led all scorers with 33 points and an impressive 6 for 13 from beyond the arc.

The Dragons were unable to find an answer for the American swingman although Goh Brothers was also helped by the presence of another American in Jarod Gee with 16 points and nine rebounds.

The game was close throughout, tied at halftime, and the Dragons simply could not pull away from a tough Cioh Brothers outfit, who may yet be a force to be reckoned with in this tournament.

The first game of the afternoon was a battle of the construction companies eventually resulting in a first win for GKT Construction at the expense of the Chunn Tzu Twisters by a scoreline of 93-83.

GKT have been helped somewhat recently with the late arrival of South African guard Joseph Mazibuko and with him there to share the load with Hamzah Al Jihad, GKT were a much improved outfit from their first three matches.

And his presence was felt yesterday in a big way as he poured in 45 points to lead his side to an unexpected win and a very slim lifeline to reach the semifnals.

As expected Hamzah, the leading scorer in the tournament did his bit with a vital 31 points and while these two import players were the only two players to reach double digits, it was enough for GKT.

Chuon Tzu, who have a very thin squad, looked weary after several close battles earlier on in the tournament and although they managed to keep it close, they were never really able to overcome that final hurdle. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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