Bandar Seri Begawan - GKT Construction registered their second win of the 3rd Shell Rimula Ultra Invitational Challenge Trophy Basketball Tournament 2003 last night to give them an outside chance of making the semifinals when they easily overwhelmed Komala One Stop LSL 110- 101.

With the late arrival of Joseph Mazibuko from South Africa making more of an impact then anyone could have imagined, GKT have won two games on the spin now and perhaps might have had more had Mazibuko been present for the whole tournament.

Mazibuko was a key factor in Mum Bakery's championship winning side two years ago and there is no doubt that his arrival has sparked a huge revival in fortunes for GKT, who up until Sunday had yet to win a single game.

But all that is in the past now as GKT have accumulated four points from their two wins to boost their position in the table standings.

Mazibuko led his side with an expected 34 points and was ably helped by another stellar performance from Hamzah Al-Jihad who had 26 points and 10 rebounds in another strong showing.

However, the hero of the night was Bennet Palad whose 5 for 8 shooting from three point territory was the difference between the two sides, the Filipino eventually finishing with 28 points and eight rebounds.

With a commanding 64-39 lead at halftime, GKT had to weather the late storm but held out admirably to send Komala reeling to their fifth consecutive defeat with just one more match to play for them.

Australian Keith Krause was once again on target for Konrala with 39 points but as usual he received very little support from the rest of his teammates.

His compatriot Ben Trebilcoek did his bit with 15 points and 11 rebounds but with the American Greg Lockhart managing only eight points, it was never going to be enough to overcome the three-pronged attack of GKT.

Komala arc a side that have flattered to deceive and have been on the brink of winning several times now but just failing to overcome that final hurdle, the best example coming against CESK L.Mark where they lost in overtime.

GKT have to win their last game against the SYH Tigers to stand any chance of reaching the semifinals which will be a tall order and a massive upset should it happen, especially considering that the Tigers have cemented their place in the final tour.

Although they were always likely to reach the semifinals, they made absolutely sure of it in last night's second match with a comfortable 97-79 victory over the Chop Eng Seng Keo L.Mark Lakers. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Brudirect.com News