Archie Cruz scored eight points, including back-to-back triples, in the final minute to lead Jazzville Dubai past Pitbull-CEC Ras Al Khaimah 80-77 en route to the Final of the MFBA Inter-Emirates Basketball Tournament at Asma Bint Al Nouman Gym in Dubai.
Down by two points, Cruz first converted his two charities to tie the scores at 74-all. Then he made a step-back trey to give Jazzville a three-point lead, 77-74, before Fritz Bauzon of Pitbull-CEC retaliated with a triple to register the last deadlock at 77-all.
In the next ball possession, with only 4.8 seconds left in the game, Ruzell Tamayo made a perfect inbound pass to Cruz who quickly fired a running three-point shot and used the glass to convert the winning basket with still one second to spare.
Pitbull-CEC had a potential game-tying shot but Jonax Emnacen misfired his three-point attempt off a pass from Arnold Booker.
“It was a do-or-die game for us and I had to take charge,” Cruz told Sport360. “We only had eight players; we were tired and most of us were in foul trouble. We will definitely lose if the match went into overtime.”
“My coach gave me the license to shoot, my team mates gave me confidence and I'm very happy I did not disappoint them,” added Cruz, who led all players with 22 points, including five triples.
Sam Perez added 18 markers for Jazzville Dubai while Ronald Hawkins and Jiggy Apil contributed 12 and 10 points respectively. Bauzon led Pitbull-CEC with 21 points while Tong Maniego and Virgilio Manuel finished with 11 each for the Ras Al Khaimah team.
Jazzville Dubai will meet in the championship PGW-Ajman, who also registered a thrilling 87-85 win over Fujairah Falcons. Ely Olarte was the star in the other semi-final game after scoring the winning basket on a breakout fast break play.
Scorers
Jazzville Dubai 80 – Archie Cruz 22; Sam Perez 18; Ronald Hawkins 12; Jiggy Apil 10; TJ Langit 6; Vladimir Joe 6; Wilbert Sayson 2; Ruzell Tamayo 2; Joel Radam 2
Pitbull-CEC Ras Al Khaimah 77 – Fritz Bauzon 21; Tong Maniego 11; Virgilio Manuel 11; Mike Garcia 8; Arnold Booker 6; Romnick Mendoza 6; Morris Mejorada 5; Jonax Emnacen 5; Derick Manalo 2; Ron Sanchez 2
