|
MINUS
its head coach, Hapee Toothpaste proved it can still
sparkle even in the most crucial time of the tournament.
The
Complete Protectors survived the ejection of mentor
Louie Alas and labored for an important 72-68 win over
San Mig Coffee in a rugged and physical game Tuesday
night in the 2008 Philippine Basketball League (PBL)
Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup at the
Muntinlupa
Sports Center.
Gabe
Norwood had an all-around performance with 17 points, 10
rebounds, seven assists and three steals to help Hapee
clinch the second automatic semifinal slot with a 9-4
card.
But the
Complete Protectors had to accomplish the feat sans
Alas, who had a verbal tussle with Coffee Kings head
coach Koy Banal right after the halftime buzzer. They
were thrown out of the game after they took a fighting
stance.
“Dapat
ang coach, nagko-coach lang. Hindi dapat
minumura ang player,” said Alas, who had to watch
the rest of the game at the press room. “But give credit
to the assistant coaches, they pulled it through.”
The
skirmish stemmed after Hapee forward Larry Rodriguez was
called for a flagrant foul on Ramon Mabayo in front of
San Mig Coffee a few seconds left before halftime.
That
didn’t sit well with Banal, who confronted Rodriguez,
forcing Alas to run to the Coffee Kings bench and
exchange heated words with his counterpart.
In the
first game, Harbour Centre stretched its winning streak
to 12 after beating stubborn Noosa Shoes, 76-71. The win
allowed the Batang Pier to formally claim the No. 1 seed
in the Final Four.
Jerwin
Gaco stepped up big in the absence of the suspended
center Beau Belga as he tallied 15 points and 11
rebounds for Harbour Centre. Solomon Mercado, on the
other hand, held Shoe Stars’ top gunner Noy Javier to
just six points in the second half.
“We’re
playing good basketball in the last 12 games, and I hope
they can keep it up until the end of the season,” said
Batang Pier head coach Jorge Gallent, who also drew 11
points from Al Vergara off the bench.
With the
loss, Noosa dropped to a 6-8 card and was denied the
chance for a twice-to-beat incentive in the
quarterfinals. And worse, the Shoe Stars are in danger
of missing the next round if they lose to Toyota Otis in
their final game.
Noosa
actually came out smoking behind Javier’s 15 markers in
the first quarter. Javier matched Harbour’s total output
in that stage to help the Shoe Stars build a 27-15 lead.
But
Batang Pier took a 40-38 lead at halftime and battled
Noosa neck-and-neck, with the latter still holding a
64-63 lead on Javier’s jumper with 5:40 left in the
game.
Harbour
Centre dropped an 11-3 run to break the game wide open,
74-67, 2:52 remaining.
“We
missed Beau’s inside presence and, luckily, Jerwin
played big today,” said Gallent. Gaco was meted a
three-game suspension after incurring five technical
fouls.
Javier
led all scorers with 23 points but was held to just
two-of-eight shooting in the second half. |
