Harbour Centre never gave Hapee Toothpaste a fighting chance right after the opening buzzer.

The Batang Pier jumped the gun early on the Complete Protectors, racing to a 16-point halftime lead en route to an 88-69 victory to remain unbeaten in the 2008 Philippine Basketball League (PBL) Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup Tuesday night at The Arena in San Juan.

Everything seemed to work well for the defending champions, forcing the Complete Protectors to labor in every possession with their pressure defense and keeping their own offense humming on their way to winning their sixth game in a row.

Harbour remained immovable at the top of the standings with 6-0 mark, while the Complete Protectors slid to a 4-3 slate.

“We just took off their string points, denying the entry pass and challenging their shooters,” said Batang Pier head coach Jorge Gallent. “We really played a very good defense on them.”

Jonathan Fernandez led all scorers with 22 points, highlighted by six three-pointers on nine attempts. Jason Castro added 15, while TY Tang chipped in 10.

Jervy Cruz led Hapee with 15 points and 12 rebounds but the other starters, like Gabe Norwood and Mark Borboran, were hardly a factor in the game. Norwood and Borboran combined for just 13 points on six-of-20 shooting from the field.

Fernandez made most of the damage in the final period, firing 11 of his total output, including three triples, which allowed Harbour to break lose and make Hapee look like an ordinary team in a rematch of the last tournament finals.

Batang Pier’s lead ballooned to as many as 26 points which took out the confidence on the wards of coach Louie Alas.

In the first game, Ronald Bucao sparked Toyota Otis’s surge in the final quarter as the Sparks finally barged in the win column with a 92-86 victory, snapping a conference-high five-game losing streak.

The five-foot-six Bucao fired 16 points in just 12 minutes of action, including an 11-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line to lead the second unit of coach Ariel Vanguardia in dismantling the Coffee Kings for their first win after six attempts.

Toyota also drew an all-around game from Chito Jaime, who, aside from collecting 17 points and 12 rebounds, was responsible in containing San Mig big man Neil Rañeses, who was held down to just nine markers on four-of-10 shooting from the field. 

“I think that was the key,” said Vanguardia, referring to Jaime’s defense on the former pro Rañeses. “Bucao also played big time today. He was huge in this game.”

Maybe Marquez-Barrera rematch first

Dethroned super-featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez is ready to take on other marquee fights if ever negotiations for a rematch with Manny Pacquiao come to nothing.

Vinluan, Carito card 71s in first day of Open qualifiers

Carito Villaroman came through with a one-under-par 71, a score matched later by amateur Erwin Vinluan as the two paced the opening round of the Philippine Open qualifiers held Tuesday at the Air Force course of the Villamor Golf Club Tuesday.

James Yap’s star power is telling heavily in the balloting that will determine the starters for the North and South teams that will play in the coming All-Star game.

CHOT Reyes brushed off rumors that there will be big changes on his roster come the Fiesta Cup of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Harbour Centre never gave Hapee Toothpaste a fighting chance right after the opening buzzer.

Top brass from the different countries forming the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games are contemplating making the regional sports event a quadrennial affair.

Members of the Touring Professional Golfers’ Association of the Philippines (TPGAP) were surprised Monday when some players from rival Professional Golfers’ Association of the Philippines (PGAP) registered for the Philippine Open qualifying round set at the Air Force course of the Villamor Golf Club.

Letters from parents and students sent through this writer’s mailbox are simply heart-warming, encouraging and humbling, at the same time.