NEIL Raneses scored a career-high 29 points while veteran Eric dela Cuesta continued to sizzle as San Mig Coffee got back at Bacchus Energy Drink 86-82 yesterday in the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Later, Hapee Toothpaste notched its third straight win by crushing Burger King 100-85.

Hapee leaned on the sniping of Mark Borboran and rookie center Jervy Cruz in the first half to repeat over the BK Whoppers. With the win, the Complete Protectors improved to a 7-3 win-loss slate while the Whoppers slipped to 5-6.

Employing a rock-solid zone defense in the second quarter, the Complete Protectors forced the Whoppers to commit one turnover after another to rip the game wide open.

Borboran led Hapee with 23 points while Cruz, who scored the winning baskets in the 85-83 double overtime win in the first round, added 22 in his most productive game so far.

"Medyo lumalim ang bench ko with the addition of Eugene (Tan) and Dino (Daa). But overall, our defense in the second quarter spelled the difference," said Hapee coach Louie Alas.

The Whoppers managed to cut Hapee’s lead down to 67-80, early in the payoff period. But that was the closest they could manage as Larry Rodriguez and Gabe Norwood hit two straight baskets to end their rally.

With dela Cuesta hitting 11 points on three triples and Raneses adding 10 right in the first 10 minutes, the Coffee Kings were well on their way to their second straight win and tie Noosa Shoes for fifth and sixth places at 4-5.

The 6-foot-3 Raneses finished with an impressive 11-of-20 shooting, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc to eclipse his previous high of 19 points which he set last March 6 against Pharex.

He also had eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks to underscore his return to top form following a forgettable stint in the pro league where he was used sparingly during a two-year stint with Coca Cola.

Despite his brilliant showing, Raneses still refused to take the credit for the team’s win. Instead, he pointed to Dela Cuesta as the team’s lucky charm. The Coffee Kings have gone 2-of-2 since dela Cuesta was signed up by the team last week.

In a fitting follow-up to his 17-point performance in their win over Pharex last Thursday, dela Cuesta wound up with 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the 3-point zone. He also dished out five assists and plucked down the same number of rebounds.

"We’re winning because of the leadership of Erick," said Raneses.

San Mig Coffee Koy Banal also acknowledged the importance of dela Cuesta to the team, saying: "His presence gave us another option but it was a team effort. We just maintained our formula like focusing more on defense."

After taking a 29-17 lead in the first quarter, the Coffee Kings stretched it to 20 thrice, the last time at 49-29 on Raneses’ jumper.