GAMES TUESDAY (Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig City)
2 p.m.—Harbour Centre vs Toyota Otis
4 p.m.—Bacchus vs Hapee
6 p.m.—Discovery RP vs Oracle
MANILA, Philippines—Harbour Centre kept its old winning habits even with new players on board.
The Batang Pier got their title-retention bid rolling with an 83-66 crushing of Pharex Generix in the PBL PG Flex Linoleum Cup Saturday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The latest batch of Harbour heroes, this time culled from the Far Eastern University’s varsity squad, eased the sting for a team that lost seven key players to the pros.
Mark Barroca and Reil Cervantes, both key cogs in FEU’s UAAP Final Four run, came through at both ends to help lift the Batang Pier to leads of as many as 16, 75-59, in the final period.
Reed Juntilla, who’s also seeking redemption following a fallout with a pro league squad, provided the offensive spark for the Batang Pier in the second half to finish with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
“We got quality minutes from Barroca and Cervantes,” said Batang Pier coach Jorge Gallent. “We just picked up our defense in the middle of the third and sustained it until the end. We clamped down on the middle and forced them to take outside shots.”
The revamped Batang Pier, who are seeking a record sixth straight championship, lost their top wards including three-time PBL Most Valuable Player Jason Castro and Filipino-American guard Solomon Mercado to the PBA.
Cervantes shot 14 points and grabbed six rebounds in just 12 minutes of action, while Barroca collected 11 markers, five boards and four assists as both players immediately filled up the vacancies in the Harbour Centre squad.
The Batang Pier thus spoiled the debut of Pharex’s Fil-Am guard Chris Ross, who pumped in 21 points on top of five assists and four steals.
Ross, the top rookie pick from US NCAA Division 1 squad Marshall University, teamed up with Ronnie Matias to turn a 5-15 deficit into 35-27 advantage in the first half.
Earlier, league officials led by commissioner Chino Trinidad and chair Mikee Romero honored pro cager and 2002 PBL Most Valuable Player Romel Adducul with the Gawad ng Katibayan for his brave fight against nasal cancer.
Major Naz Cablayan also earned the Gawad ng Paglilingkod for his heroics in firefighting.
The scores:
HARBOUR CENTRE 83—Juntilla 21, Cervantes 14, Barroca 11, Maierhofer 8, Gaco 8, Fernandez 7, Cawaling 6, Stephens 2, Barua 2, Ramos 2, Asoro 2, Bautista 0.
PHAREX 66—Ross 21, Matias 16, Villamin 9, Ebuen 4, Gerilla 4, Bauzon 4, Aguilar 2, Cańada 2, Allera 2, Co 2, Mazo 0, Espiritu 0.
Quarters: 22-19, 40-39, 65-59, 83-66
