.
Less heralded players rise to the occasion for Batang
Pier
By Jonas Terrado (May 28, 2008)
TANAUAN CITY, BATANGAS – The day
may have belonged to the league's Most Valuable Player
Jason Castro but two of his less heralded teammates
finished the job late that pushed Harbour Centre to
the brink of capturing their fifth consecutive crown.
Former collegiate mainstays Beau Belga
and Jonathan Fernandez made sure that Hapee Toothpaste
wont steal another game after a double-double digit
deficit, as they hit key shots down the stretch to take
a 2-1 series lead heading into another road trip back
to Batangas City for Game 4.
'We relaxed in the third quarter,' Harbour
head coach Jorge Gallent admitted. 'We gave up 31 points
to Hapee but good thing we picked it up in the fourth
quarter to get this win.'
Don't be fooled by the 90-78 victory
by the Batang Pier in front of a packed audience at
the President Jose P. Laurel gymnasium 1 here, but the
second half was tightly contested by two squads trying
to grab a stranglehold of the series.
But then, Belga suddenly produced for
the four-time champions, making six points in the final
quarter to end up with a decent eight-point, seven-rebound
effort.
He also had a strong effort late against
his counterpart, Larry Rodriguez. Belga frustrated the
PBL Mythical Five member which later proved to be a
key moment of the game, drawing an unsportsmanlike foul
from the latter with 4:26 left in the contest and the
game tied at 72-72.
Belga knocked in two free throws and
by then, the ballgame was over. He grabbed rebounds,
received passes inside to end up with points in the
statsheet, and beat out Rodriguez in one play on the
offensive board before scoring a putback.
This was probably the best production
the former Hapee-PCU member ever had this conference.
It was a rough showing for Belga in the PBL Lipovitan
Amino Sports Cup, as either he had to sit out early
due to foul trouble, getting the early disqualification,
or even receiving a three-game suspension. But then,
the bruiser made up for lost time in the finals that
made a huge boost for the Batang Pier.
'He played well offensively and outplayed
Rodriguez in the game,' Gallent said.
Fernandez also joined the act as the
former National University spitfire tallied nine points
in the fourth period. One of which was seconds after
Belga's charities, that upped the margin to five with
3:44 in the game.
The former Pivotal Player of the finals
back in the 2007 Silver Cup also had his best effort
of the series, finishing with 13 points and shooting
3-of-6 from downtown.
He has been quietly producing for the
black-and-red clad ballclub, sparingly converting 2-3
treys a game but most of them has been on timely situations.
With the efforts of both, the team recovered
from a disappointing third quarter, when Reed Juntilla
(he had 19 points on 7-for-18 shooting), Rodriguez (17
points, 11 rebounds) and the Complete Protectors went
ahead from a nine-point deficit at the turn.
Belga and Fernandez complimented a 40-minute
exploit by Castro. Named as the best player of the 2007-08
PBL season over Hapee's Gabe Norwood before tipoff,
the former RP team mainstay proved to the Batangueño
crowd that he was the MVP by producing 28 points, seven
rebounds, and seven assists with a wide array of shots
from inside and out.
But behind that, there were unnoticed
ones as well from Harbour in the first half. Jeff Chan
produced six points in the first quarter, making two
triples in the process while Edwin Asoro put up a quick
showing of two threes in two straight possessions that
was key in a 42-33 advantage after 20 minutes of play.
They struggled since but those small
things helped too. Aside from that, the Batang Pier
equaled the rain outside the gym, making nine shots
from beyond the arc in the first two quarters en route
to a total of 12 bombs.
The Manila-based sportswriters and the
fans may have heard this from Gallent many times directly
or indirectly during the four-month tournament, but
this time he said it again, because Harbour has to play
the same consistent level tomorrow.
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