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HARBOUR
CENTRE got a big scare before pulling off an 86-71 win
over San Mig Coffee to formally clinch the first
semifinal seat of the 2008 Philippine Basketball League
(PBL) Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup Thursday night at The
Arena in San Juan.
The
Batang Pier appeared headed for another easy win after
leading by 24 points at halftime, but the Coffee Kings
mounted a late rally that eventually lost steam in the
end game, thus allowing Harbour Centre to notch its 11th
straight win.
The win
did not only give the defending champions the first
semifinal seat but also gifted the Batang Pier the
privilege to choose their opponent from the two winners
of the quarterfinals.
“The
eagerness to play defense was lacking in the last five
minutes. They just went through the motion,” said Batang
Pier head coach Jorge Gallent, who had four players in
double figures, led by TY Tang with 14 points.
“I’m not
mad because we were able to put the lead back to double
digits,” Gallent added.
Harbour
Centre twice posted the game’s biggest lead of 27
points, the last at 68-41 late in the third period.
Unable
to draw sparks from his starters, Coffee Kings head
coach Koy Banal gambled on Leo Losentes, Eder Saldua,
Ramon Mabayo and Jerby del Rosario and it nearly paid
off as they unloaded a furious 30-9 exchange to trim the
advantage to just six, 71-77, with 1:33 left in the
game.
But Tang
and Jason Castro responded with a pair of free throws
each to usher in a game-clinching 9-0 run that settled
the outcome.
Jaypee
Alcaraz was the only San Mig Coffee in double figures
with 10 markers as Neil Raneses and Bonbon Custodio were
virtually silenced throughout the game.
Custodio
was held to just seven points on three-of-nine shooting
while Raneses, who was averaging 22.2 points in the last
three wins of the Coffee Kings, also finished with seven
on a three-of-10 stint. San Mig’s three-game winning
streak also ended and the Coffee Kings dropped to 5-6.
In the
first game, Marcy Arellano saved Burger King from a
monumental collapse with a crucial steal in the closing
seconds to preserve a 67-64 victory over Noosa Shoes.
Burger
King thus firmed up its hold on the third spot with a
7-6 win-loss card.
Arellano
poked the ball away from Shoe Stars guard Kelvin de la
Peña at midcourt that denied Noosa the chance to tie the
game after crawling back from a 25-point deficit.
“It was
a case of overconfidence of the boys. I think that is
something we have to check. The killer instinct should
be there,” said Whoppers head coach Allan Gregorio,
whose wards were poised for a blowout win before the
Shoe Stars rallied in the final five minutes.
“We
played 35 minutes of good basketball, then we relaxed in
the last five minutes. But still, I’ll take this kind of
win instead of losing it,” he added.
With the
Shoe Starts shooting just 19 percent in the first half,
Burger King erected a 49-24 cushion and held a 57-40
lead in the early part of the final canto when Noosa
began to hit their marks and forced the Whoppers to a
series of turnovers.
A 20-8
exchange capped by Noy Javier’s three-pointer sliced the
huge lead to just five 60-65 with one minute left in the
game.
Arellano
split his free throws to make it 66-60 for the Whoppers,
but John Wilson racked up four straight free throws to
push the Shoe Stars closer at 64-66, 7.8 ticks left.
Lawrence
Bonus and Mike Bravo had 16 and 15 points, respectively
for Burger King. Javier posted a game-high 25 makers for
Noosa, which fell to 5-7. |
