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Harbour posts 2nd win; Bacchus stuns Hapee
(November 12, 2008)
Games Tomorrow
(Arellano University Gym, Legarda)
2 p.m. Magnolia vs Pharex
4 p.m. Burger King vs Bacchus
Looks like Harbour Centre will have another
good season. Ranged against a team that is touted as
the biggest thorn to its six-peat drive, Harbour Centre
went to a rookie and comebacking Fil-Am to score a 98-93
win over Toyota Otis yesterday in the 2009 PBL PG Flex
Linoleum Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Mark Barroca, a sophomore guard for Far
Eastern University, exploded for seven of his 15 points
in the pivotal period as he held his ground against
former La Salle ace JV Casio to the delight of Harbour
owner Mikee Romero.
Showing steely nerves, the Zamboanga City
native finished with a 6-of-8 shooting from the field
in just 20 minutes of action while Nick Stephens hit
a go-ahead triple and a layup that pushed the Batang
Pier's lead to 85-80 with.5:47 left.
Stephens, who last played for Harbour
two years back, came off the bench to score nine points
on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting in 12 minutes of action.
It was Harbour's second win in as many
games to take the early lead in the team standings.
"Everybody just played well,"
said Harbour Centre head coach Jorge Gallent. "I
told them that they should help together as a team and
it worked.
Although ahead by eight, the Batang Pier
nearly saw their eight-point lead slip away when James
Mangahas converted a basket with one minute left off
a foul by Reed Juntilla that cut the deficit to 96-93.
After Barroca was called for double-dribbling,
36 seconds left, the Sparks had a chance to tie the
count but Patrick Cabahug's 3-point shot went airball
with16.7 ticks remaining.
Cabahug's bungled shot was Toyota's 12th
missed triple in 15 attempts in the second half after
making 5 of 10 tries in the first 20 minutes.
"They were hitting their shots in
the first half so we went man to man in the second half,"
Gallent said. "We also play good interior defense
because we are getting killed by their big men."
Rico Maierhofer made 13 points on 4-for-8
shooting together with seven rebounds, Juntilla also
scored 13 along with three rebounds and three assists
in 25 minutes, and Benedict Fernandez scored 10 off
the bench.
Harbour will take a one-week break as
six of its players is set to leave for Cagayan de Oro
City today to banner FEU in the Philippine Collegiate
Championship zonal phase.
"We just have to adjust at practice
without them," said Gallent, whose team will face
Magnolia on its next assignment on Nov. 20.
James Sena led Toyota in a losing effort
with 16 points on 8-for-11 clip while hauling down five
boards in 24 minutes. Erick Rodriguez tallied 15 points
and eight boards before fouling out.
Casio and John Wilson chipped in 14 markers
apiece for the Sparks.
Wilson and James Mangahas combined for
five treys in the first half as Toyota roared to a 27-19
lead. But the Batang Pier slowly got back into the contest
behind the efforts of Stephens, Fernandez and Raffy
Reyes to seize the lead, 47-45, at halftime.
In the second game, Bacchus Energy Drink
survived a late comeback by Hapee Toothpaste to score
an 88-84 upset victory.
Paul Lee, a rookie from University of
the East, took charge with a team-high 17 points, 10
rebounds, six steals and five assists in 28 minutes
while Pari Llagas and James Martinez also from UE --
added 14 and 12 markers each as the Energy Warriors
recovered from a seven-point halftime lead to stun the
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