HARBOUR Centre unleashed the full might of its vaunted
offense in the final half to crush Noosa Shoes 79-48 and grab the early lead in
the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup yesterday at the Emilio Aguinaldo College
gym in Manila.
The Batang Pier struggled in the first two quarters but got
into their offensive rhythm in the second half en route to notching their
second straight win in the season-ending tournament.
Only two players–Jerwin Gaco and Beau Belga–managed to score
in double figures for the five-peat seeking Harbour Centre but coach Jorge
Gallent expressed satisfaction this time, unlike in his team’s 85-77 win over
San Mig Coffee in the opener last Saturday.
"At least, they raised their game a notch higher compared to
our game against San Mig Coffee," said Gallent. "I think we’re now 80 to 85
percent of our full potential."
"The score will always be tight if they will not distribute
the ball well and that happened again in the first half," said Gallent. "Mabuti
na lang, nag-click sila sa second half."
In the second game, Khiel Misa scored seven of his 15 points
in overtime to lift Burger King to a pulsating 73-67 win over San Mig Coffee.
A bristling 7-0 run highlighted by Misa’s back-to-back
baskets at the start of overtime was all the Whoppers needed to turn the game
around after trailing most of the game in regulation.
"We showed that we had the character to bounce back," said coach Allan
Gregorio who drew 20 points from Abby Santos.
