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Game of the Week: Pharex upsets Harbour; gains QF berth
By Jonas Terrado
(May 9, 2008)

It was a game that Pharex needed more than any team. And the Medics surprisingly succeeding, thus holding the distinction of the first team to defeat Harbour Centre in the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup -- thanks to an exciting 99-97 win at The Arena in San Juan.

Not only did the Medics score the upset, but they also grabbed a much important slot, a quarterfinal slot that is, a first in the short history of the Carlo Tan-mentored squad. It also snapped the 12 game unbeaten run of the Batang Pier in the tournament.

Coming into the game, the Medics were in deep trouble, having recently lost a 104-99 decision to Toyota Otis two days prior in Malabon, dropping them to 6-7 in the tournament, and in danger of possibly missing the quarterfinals.

Expected to be another runaway win for Harbour Centre turned out to be a surprise first half as Pharex, who sported new red jerseys for the contest, led 51-44 as the Medics paraded 29 points in the second quarter.

By the end of the third period, Pharex was still in control, 76-72, but in the first three minutes of the final canto Harbour Centre inched closer, a three by Jonathan Fernandez and a basket by Dylan Ababou cut the deficit to 78-77 with 7:20 on the clock.

After a Jam Alfad putback, the Batang Pier mounted six straight points, all coming from Jerwin Gaco that gave them their first lead since the first half at 83-80 with 4:41 left.

By then, the Medics made their run-and-gun play as their prescription. Ian Saladaga scored on a fastbreak catch and a basket, 41 seconds later, Sean Co also converted on a similar situation for the go-ahead lead before Emerson Oreta drained a key triple for an 87-83 margin with 3:04 remaining.

In the next two minutes, Harbour, who played minus an injured Sol Mercado and a suspended Beau Belga, struggled to make its shots while Pharex was just contented on making their free throws that made it 98-91 with less than 30 seconds to go, and appears to have sealed the upset.

But hold on, late baskets by Jason Castro and TY Tang pushed the lead back to two with 2.2 seconds remaining before recovering the ball off the inbound turnover with 0.7 to go. However, Castro shot an airball from the three-point spot at the buzzer, securing the Medics win.

Saladaga, the former San Jose Recoletos star in Cebu, finished with a career-best 26 points, along with nine rebounds while Pharex got a balanced-scoring from Francis Allera's 18, and Don Villamin's 17. Castro led Harbour Centre once more with a big 31-point output even as Jonathan Fernandez tallied 19 markers in a losing cause.

"Hindi namin talaga inexpect na mananalo kami sa Harbour," Saladaga said when named as the Best Player of the Game on the PBL coverage on IBC 13, amidst a loud jubilation of his teammates that can be heard on the background. "Dinaan talaga namin sa teamwork, yun kasi sabi ni coach kung gusto namin manalo."

On the other hand, Tan praised his team for their great ball movement while playing hard on defense plus making this as a confidence-boosting one for the inconsistent franchise, who dropped six of eight prior.

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