VTTI established a 30-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter and kept the 15-point lead, 50-35, before the interval. They continued with their rampage and padded their lead to as much as 24 points in the middle of the third quarter after Jeff Roque scored on a fast break play.

But Gulf Craft’s Archie Cruz changed the complexity of the game after he turned hot before the end of the third period. He scored three consecutive three-pointers and added four more triples in the the final period as Khalifa Salem, Marlon Bernal and Rolly Basilides also joined Gulf Craft’s upsurge.

Going into the final minute, Cruz calmly sunk two charities which pushed Gulf Craft closer, 99-95, with 1:14 left on the clock.

Unfortunately for VTTI, they were not able to take advantage of Gulf Craft’s early penalty situation as they missed seven crucial free throws.

Khalifa tied the game at 102-all with only 8 seconds left and sent the game into overtime. Despite losing the battle in the height department, Gulf Craft were able to keep pace and exchanged leads with VTTI in the extra five minutes but in the end, VTTI’s dominance of the boards kept them ahead.

The hero of the game for VTTI was 6’8” UAE national player Qais Al Shabibi, who top-scored with 43 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and made three block shots. He was followed by Alex Callueng, who scored the winning shot and finished with 13 points. Syrian national player Amer Al Sati contributed 12 markers.