Hapee survives LBC to remain unscathed

Hapee Toothpaste, enjoying the breaks at endgame, nipped LBC-Batangas, 61-59, yesterday to preserve its unblemished record in the Sunkist 2003 PBL Unity Cup at the Pasig Sports Center.

Peter June Simon and Wesley Gonzales scored 11 points apiece as the Teeth Sparklers pulled away in the Vis-Min division on a fifth straight win.

But Hapee coach Junel Baculi was not satisfied with the win yesterday, saying his team didn’t show a killer instint.

"This is what I’ve been telling them. We are the marked team in this tournament and the other teams are all out to beat us," said Baculi.

"It’s not enough that we play this way. In the coming games, we should really play with more determination," he added.

Joel Co and Warren Ybanez delivered the crucial points as Viva Mineral Water topped Nutri-licious, 71-68, in overtime in the second game.

Hapee went up by 10 points, 57-47, following a jumper by Gonzales with still 4:07 remaining in the game but lowered its guard at the finish and nearly paid for it.

A triple by Ralph Rivera ignited an 8-0 spurt that moved the Batangas Blades within three at 55-57 with 1:56 left in the contest.

The Blades even seized a chance to pull even as Allan Salangsang committed a crucial error in the ensuing play.

But Salangsang made up for that error with a steal off Ronald Allan Capati and Simon broke a four-minute silence of the Teeth Sparklers with a basket, time down to 41.2 seconds.

The Blades, however, kept the pressure on the Teeth Sparklers, inching within two points anew at 57-59 on Mico Roldan’s follow-up of Al Magpayo’s miss in the last 12.8 seconds.

The Teeth Sparklers and the Blades traded a basket each in the dying seconds for the final tally.

The match went through four deadlocks and five lead changes although Hapee controlled the boards, 46-44, and earned 22 points off LBC’s 18 turnovers.