IT was going down as one of the best matches in the history books for the Sultanate but came to a disappointing end despite the winners triumphing both on and off the court.

The clock didn't hit the final buzzer as an MK Kids player elbowed a Pizza Hut player right in front of their bench with 55 seconds left in double overtime, triggering a controversial halt to an exhilarating game on Sunday night at the Brunei Basketball Association court.

The referee totally missed the elbow, and did not even call for a foul when it should have been an ejection.

The incident ignited the Pizza Hut bench as they went straight on their feet to confront the MK Kids player. Things were almost getting out of control, but thankfully cooled off after intervention by some players.

However, the Pizza Hut team decided to walk out on the match, feeling that there was no point continuing with such unsportsmanlike conduct being employed by the opponent.

The controversy helped MK Kids secure a berth in the highly contentious semi-finals with a 97-93 victory over Pizza Hut in Group B of the 37 years old and below category of the Filipino Amateur Basketball (FAB) tournament.

Geve Leones topscored for MK Kids with 31 points while Anderson Yu contributed 19 to help their team win the hotly contested game.

For Pizza Hut, John Nicole Ambanta had 23 points and player coach Marwyn Belleza had 19 points in the encounter.

Both teams battled it out neck and neck right from the start with MK Kids taking a 21-20 lead heading into the second quarter.

Pizza Hut were shooting well from the field and were executing their plays. MK Kids were hauling down the rebounds as they extended their lead to 35-32 at the break.

Pizza Hut turned the tides in the third period and grabbed the lead at 51-49 going into the final stanza. MK Kids kept themselves composed and eventually regained the lead and extended it to seven points at 75-68 with two minutes left to play in regulation.

However, back-to-back three-pointers by Pizza Hut, including a steal leading to a foul with split free-throws with 15 seconds remaining sent the game into overtime.

It was the same affair at the restart and both sides were not going to let up. Belleza had a chance to win the match with two seconds left but missed both freethrows sending the game into its second extra period.

Both teams were exhausted at that point, but it was MK Kids that prevailed after an unnecessary foul that sparked the controversial ending.

"They (Pizza Hut) are a good team with stamina and they really gave it to us, but it's sad that it had to end in that fashion." said Johari Abdullah, the head coach of MK Kids, in an interview with The Brunei Times, yesterday.

"In addition, the referees missed quite a few calls as well."

"Both teams had equal chances on closing out the game, but overall we're satisfied in getting the result and moving into the semifinals," added Johari.

Meanwhile, Belleza felt that they were destined not to pick up the victory for that match.

"I had the chance to win the game in the first overtime but I couldn't bend my knees due to an injury I picked up earlier in the match, which resulted in missing the two crucial freethrows," said Belleza.

"It was a really physical game but I thought officiating was not good enough, especially the unsportsmanlike foul on our player with 55 seconds left. It was totally unnecessary," added Belleza.

Nonetheless, the Pizza Hut playing coach was satisfied with his team's performance, with the match stretching to early Monday morning at 1am.

"I'm satisfied with the team especially the bench, who stepped up their game in the match, but I guess we were destined not to win it after missing numerous chances," concluded Belleza.

The tournament continues tomorrow with Brunei Buffaloes taking on DHJ in the 38 years old and above category at 9pm followed by Asaff going up against MDA in Group A at 10.30pm for the last round of the group stages.

The Brunei Times