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HISTORY UNFOLDING: HARBOUR IN SIXTH STRAIGHT FINALS
By Joseph W. Buduan
(January 28, 2009)

Harbour Centre head coach Jorge Gallent said it rather flatly after they won Game 1, “No, we aren’t expecting to sweep the series.” “Hapee is a tough team and they are capable of bouncing back,” he added. Three games later and the Batang Pier have indeed completed the sweet sweep. In the process they are in their sixth straight PBL Finals.

Hapee Toothpaste didn’t really put up much of a fight in this series. Former Ateneo superstar Chris Tiu, the 5-foot-11 hotshot guard, finally suited up for the Complete Protectors in their last game in the quarterfinals. Tiu stabilized their backcourt and helped them finally get past the Pharex Generix, but he was hardly a factor in the series against the Batang Pier.

Lance Convento, a Filipino-American guard, stepped up in this critical Game 3 and had a career PBL game with 24 points to lead all scorers, but he faltered in the end-game in the face of the Batang Pier onslaught. Convento was firing on all cylinders right off the bat, nailing long jumpers, slashing in and out of the Batang Pier defenses, finding open teammates, and busting out in transition. The rest of Hapee stepped up with him as they took a 38 – 31 lead into the lemon time break, scoring 24 second period points to Harbour Centre’s 11.

Hapee continued to have its way with Harbour in the third period as Convento, Alfie Grijaldo and Dino Daa moved the ball quickly and kept the Batang Pier at bay. Overeager basketball became the theme for Harbour Centre in the third period as they ran into a mess of turnovers. Conspicuously absent all this time was former UAAP MVP Jervy Cruz. He eventually finished with only two freethrows and seven boards and was held to 0 – 8 shooting from the field by the Harbour defense.

By the payoff fourth period though Convento and the rest of the Complete Protectors seemed to run out of gas. Veterans Jerwin Gaco, Al Vergara and Edwin Asoro stepped it up and cut the Hapee lead down to 63 – 64. Reed Juntilla, the Cebuano firebrand, nailed a three-pointer with Tiu all over him to give Harbour Centre the 66-64 lead late in the fourth period. It was all over for Hapee from that point. Ironically Juntilla was playing for the Complete Protectors the last time these two teams met in the PBL Finals.

Convento, who had played the game of his life up to that point, threw a hard-to-handle pass to an off-balanced Cruz that went out of bounds. After that he front-rimmed a three-point attempt that could’ve brought the Complete Protectors within a point with still 13 seconds left. In the end, Vergara held steady at the freethrow line for the final count and the Harbour Centre victory.

Gaco threw in 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and played playoff defense against the entire Hapee frontline. He would not let his guys let up. He seemed an afterthought all throughout the eliminations, with games that were more off than on. In the second round of the eliminations he seemed distracted and played a little off-kilter. Boy did he make up for it in this semifinal series.

Gaco had indeed stepped up for the Batang Pier. He was adjudged best player of the game in Game 1 and had been so relentless off both boards and in defending the low blocks. “Looks like the franchise stepped up for us, he had a heck of a series for us, wala akong masabi kay Jerwin Gaco,” exclaimed Harbour Centre team owner and PBL Chair Dr Mikee Romero. “Looks like he wants to go straight up to the PBA!” added Romero with a hearty laugh. “This might – just MIGHT – be the swan song for Harbour Centre, at least in the PBL, so being in our sixth straight Finals is really very special for us,” declared Romero further.

For the record, Harbour Centre has now tied the Welcoat franchise with six straight appearances in the PBL Finals. They already broke the record once held by the Tanduay franchise with their fifth straight title in the last conference. They can pad that lead should they win the PG Flex Cup title this year. They will face either Bacchus Energy Drink or Magnolia Pure Water.

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