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HARBOUR
CENTRE played almost flawlessly to beat a pesky Toyota
Otis squad, 99-92, Tuesday night and march into the
semifinals unscathed of the 2008 Philippine Basketball
League (PBL) Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup at the Emilio
Aguinaldo College Gym in
Manila.
The
Batang Pier had an answer to every Toyota Otis rally to
claim their 10th straight win and become the first team
to enter the best-of-five semifinal series.
“We
played very well as a team today. Everybody contributed
to this win,” said Harbour Centre head coach Jorge
Gallent, who had eight players scoring at least seven
points in a balanced display of offensive attack.
But more
than their scoring was the team members’ discipline in
running their plays as the Batang Pier committed only
six turnovers, tying the league record established by
Ateneo-Pioneer on November 29, 2001.
Jason
Castro led all scorers with 19 points. He teamed up with
backcourt partner TY Tang in the final canto when the
Sparks,
who fell to 5-7, unleashed a couple of uprisings that
went for naught.
Al
Vergara had six in Batang Pier’s 10-1 run to start the
fourth period for a commanding 82-66 lead before RJ
Jazul anchored an 11-2 exchange to put the Sparks back
in the game, 77-84, 4:48 remaining.
But Tang
hit a three-pointer in the next play to put the lead
back to double figures, 87-77. Again,
Toyota, which came from a huge win over Hapee in its last game,
refused to roll and die as it mounted another run, this
time a 9-4 exchange to threaten at 86-91.
Tang and
Castro finally finished off the Spark as the former hit
a jumper, while the latter followed up a miss.
Jazul
had 18 points, while Chito Jaime added 15 for Toyota,
which must now win its last three games for a shot at
the quarterfinal round.
In the
first game, Burger King stayed in the hunt for a
quarterfinal seat after humbling Bacchus Energy Drink,
60-48. The win allowed the Whoppers to snap a four-game
losing streak.
The
Whoppers were in full control before the Raiders made a
brave comeback, only to falter in the end as they were
held to just three points in the last four minutes. They
fell deeper in the standings with a 4-8 slate.
Burger
King, which last won on March 18, improved its mark to
6-6 and, more important, kept its flickering hope of
advancing to the next round alive.
“We knew
Bacchus would play hard because they want to stay in
contention. We made crucial plays down the stretch, and
I’m happy we’re able to pull it through,” said Whoppers
head coach Allan Gregorio.
Abby
Santos led Burger King with 11 points, while Mike Bravo
and Nestor David each had 10 markers in the game which
was marked by poor shooting by both teams.
The
Whoppers hit just 37 percent (26-of-70), while Bacchus
was held to just 30 percent (18-of-61).
Despite
their erratic offense, the Whoppers managed a 43-28
margin early in the third period, but the Raiders stayed
close behind Jorel Canizares, Nat Cruz and Rey Gueverra
to pull within 45-48, 3:55 remaining.
But
Bravo hit a crucial 15-foot jumper that ignited a
blistering 12-0 run by the Whoppers, who pulled away,
60-45, 13 ticks left in the game. Canizares’s triple was
the only field goal by Bacchus in that stretch.
Canizares was the only Raider who finished in double
figures with 13. Bacchus must now sweep its last three
games, including a game against Harbour Centre and Hapee,
to stave off early elimination. |
