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Harbour
Centre head coach Jorge Gallent refuses to believe that
his team now owns the momentum after tying at one game
apiece the 2008 Philippine Basketball League (PBL)
Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup finals.
Gallent
said that the only thing his Batang Pier achieved after
their 93-81 win in Game Two was they took out the
advantage that Hapee Toothpaste got when they pulled off
a stunning 74-73 victory in the series opener.
Now, the
series is reduced to a race-to-two with the pivotal Game
Three set today at 4 p.m. at the President Jose P.
Laurel Gym in
Tanauan City.
Gallent,
who is out to give the Mikee Romero-owned franchise its
fifth-straight title, downplayed their emphatic win.
“It’s
still 50-50. It still takes three wins to win the
championship,” said Gallent when asked which team now
holds the momentum of the series.
After
surprising tournament favorite Harbour in the series
opener, Hapee played listlessly the next game, most
notably the team’s starters. The Complete Protectors
were down big midway through the second half, but they
battled back only to fall short.
“The war
is far from over. I think we still have the chance to
win the series. We have to match their aggressiveness,”
Hapee coach Louie Alas said.
Harbour
had 12 steals compared with three of Hapee. The Complete
Protectors also committed 22 turnovers, which Batang
Pier translated to 31 points.
Jason
Castro tallied 16 points, five rebounds and five steals
to spearhead Harbour’s attack. Sweet-shooting Jeff Chan
netted 18 points while Boyet Bautista, who served a
team-imposed penalty in Game Two, contributed 13 points
as a starter.
Gabe
Norwood had a complete game, registering 13 points,
seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals, but the
Complete Protectors need to get more help particularly
from their perimeter players.
Meanwhile, the tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP)
will be announced today.
League
commissioner Chino Trinidad will hand out the highest
individual award in a tight two-name race that includes
Singapore-bound Jason Castro and former US Division One
veteran Gabe Norwood.
The
six-foot-five
Norwood
enjoys a slight edge over the five-foot-nine Castro in
statistical points, making this year’s MVP derby up for
grabs.
Besides
statistics, also crucial in determining the season’s MVP
is the votes of players, members of the coaching staff,
as well as the media covering the league the past two
tournaments.
If
Castro wins, he will be the first since Eric Menk to win
the MVP three straight times. If Norwood wins, he will
be the first player in quite a while to win the MVP in
his rookie year.
Norwood
has been collecting awards here and there, receiving the
Fan Favorite award and being named to the PBL Mythical
First Five in the weekend.
Castro
is also part of the First Team along with teammate Chad
Alonzo and Hapee’s Mark Borboran and Larry Rodriguez.
The
high-leaping Castro won his first MVP after leading
Harbour Centre to a 3-0 sweep of Hapee in 2006. He won
his second in the 2007 Unity Cup where the Batang Pier
also scored a 3-0 sweep of Cebuana Lhuillier.
The
league usually honors outstanding players every
conference until it changed its policy this year to give
officials, players and media men enough time to select
the best player of the year. |
