DOHA: The Jersey Masters overcame a tension-filled game against KIA Motors-Mindoro Tamaraw 105-100 to win the first match of the best-of-three championship series for the Class A of 2011 McDonald’s Basketball Cup of Pinoy Basketbol-Qatar (PIBAQ) at the Al Gharafa Multi-Purpose Training Gym over the weekend.

The game attended by some 500 fans turned out to be too physical that nearly ended up into a fracas but cooler heads man- aged to break the near fist fight between the players in the midst of the tension that was also fueled by wild cheers from the fans.

The tension erupted when KIA Motor’s point guard Eric Tamayo had a bad fall after Jason Tiongson accidentally hit him while the former was going down from a lay up. Tamayo’s team mate Bong Caballero quickly reacted trying to go after Tiongson with fist challenge. The game already in the dying minutes was temporar- ily halted as PIBAQ chairman Pat Carido warned over an announce- mentonmicrophonethatthose who will start the trouble will be thrown out of the hard court.

It was a tight physical ball game since the very start as both teams traded baskets most of the time.

The early foul out of Caballero followed by team mate and center Radel Mallari was a big factor why their team failed to catch up in the dying minutes of the game as their opponents dominated the boards and executed fast break conversion,

Tamayo and Michael Paderes tried to boost the morale of their team mates with back-to-back baskets with a minute left in the game to catch up within a sin- gle point deficit, 97-96, but tough luck for them as Lemuel Proceso answered it with a three-point markerintherainbowterritory and another basket from Ronnie Cahayon of Jersey Masters.

Tamayo missed two charity shots with 27 seconds left that proved to be crucial as the Jersey Masters converted baskets to seal their win. In the battle for third place, Western Union-Rumaillah defeated Doha Premium, 89-90, after the started to pull away in the remaining two minutes of the game.

THE PENINSULA