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Al-Majdouie were once again at their best when they over-powered Al-Hoty cagers 82-74 to record their second straight win in the Eastern Province Basketball League Unity Cup elimination round in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Al-Majdouie’s new-recruit, Joy Belmonte, made his team proud as he dug deep and overcame scary moments down the stretch in the final quarter.

Belmonte, who recorded 12 points in the first quarter, led his teammates with 24 points.

Al-Hoty controlled the board in the first quarter 47-38 courtesy of Nelson Sambajon and Arevalo’s sporadic three-point shooting, but it was not enough to put them on a par with their opponents let alone win the game as they were scoreless in the second canto and inconsistent for the rest of the game.

Al-Majdouie recorded a solitary two points in the second period, courtesy of Belmonte, as both teams demonstrated tight defence from the onset till the final buzzer.

“If I am not mistaken, in EPBL’s decade of basketball, Al-Hoty is the only team not to score in a particular period” commented an EPBL fan.

Winless in the first conference, Al-Majdouie tried to annihilate their past image as underdogs by the unprecedented hard court actions of Belmonte, Jonathan Subiza (19), Paulo Macaculop (14), JP Baltazar (8), Ferdie Abragan (6), Allan Enojas (4), Arnold Collado (4), Andrew Catalo (2) and Allan Joyno (1).

“The match was another though test for my team," said coach Lawrence Militante.

"I am happy that our rigid practices are paying off but we can still improve our level of play. We still have to improve our defence. It was a test of physical strength, endurance and character for our players. Even if they were down, they did not lose their concentration,” Al-Majdouie Regional manager, Zaffarulah Khan, and sports manager Kaleemullah Ahmed added.

For Al-Hoty, veteran Boy Sese posted a dismal record of nine points, seven in the first period and from the free throw line in the last period.

Sambajon led all scorers with 31 points including his four triples. Arevalo added 14 points while Calub and Rapones contributed 11 and four respectively.