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WINNING
the series opener does not guarantee a clear path to the
crown.
Hapee
Toothpaste head coach Louie Alas made this clear to his
players as the Complete Protectors gun for a commanding
2-0 lead in the best-of-five finals series of the 2008
Philippine Basketball League (PBL) Lipovitan Amino
Sports Cup.
Game Two
is set tomorrow at 4 p.m. at the Governor Ayong Maliksi
Gym in Trece Martires, Cavite, where Hapee takes
significant momentum after a stunning 74-73 win
Wednesday at the Batangas City Sports Center in Batangas
City.
“It was
a character win for us,” said Alas, whose team was down
by 18 points in one stage and five in the last 1:26 of
the series opener which was witnessed by a crowd count
of 6,000.
“But we
have to be ready because for, sure, Harbour Centre will
make adjustments. And we won only one game. We don’t
have the championship yet,” Alas added.
There
were unsung heroes in that come-from-behind victory by
Hapee, led by Alfie Grijaldo, who made two critical
defensive stops in the closing minute, one drawing a
charging foul off Batang Pier guard TY Tang and another
blocking Jason Castro’s potential game-winning jumper.
Gabe
Norwood was a nonfactor offensively as he was held to
just nine points on three-of-seven shooting, but he
contributed six rebounds, six assists and valuable
intangibles on the defensive end.
Alas
observed that his team is slowly maturing, proof of
which was when Hapee maintained its poise despite being
behind a huge margin.
“We’re
growing as a team, but the efforts, as far as I’m
concerned, will go to waste if we don’t win. This is
only one game, and it takes three to get the ultimate
goal,” Alas said.
For
Harbour Centre to even the series, coach Jorge Gallent
needs his boys to impose their will, especially in
offense, because only Castro, the two-time Most Valuable
Player, finished in double figures in Game One.
Castro
finished with 13 points on five-of-12 shooting, but his
teammates failed to deliver, including Tang who scored
only five markers on a two-of-seven stint from the floor
and committed four of the team’s 22 turnovers.
Meanwhile, PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad expressed his
deep gratitude to the response of the Batangueños in
Game One of the championship series.
“It’s
really a great feeling, the way fans from the provinces
like Batangas and Cavite, Tarlac and as far as Baguio
have gone out of their way to support our games,” said
Trinidad, who is planning to bring back the series in
Batangas City if it goes the full route.
The
crowd that witnessed Game One was the biggest since Game
Five of the finals series between Fash Liquid Detergent
(now Hapee) and Welcoat Paints in 2004, which was played
at the PhilSports Arena.
The
success of the out-of-town games of the PBL has already
trickled down to other provinces, as government
officials from Olongapo and Dagupan City have already
signified their intentions to host a game or two in the
next conference. |
