Lee Pipes can’t lose ’em all

Larry Fonacier fired eight of his 17 points in the final six minutes as Lee Pipes-Ateneo held off the rallying Hapee, 87-81, yesterday to barge into the win column in the PBL Platinum Cup at the Pasig Sports Center.

"That’s Larry for you," said Lee Pipes coach Sandy Arespacochaga. "But I think all of my players contributed, it was a team effort."

Truly, the Eagles drew big numbers from Paolo Bugia, Nino Gelig, LA Tenorio and BJ Manalo, who chipped in 14, 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Baji del Rosario, Magnum Membrere helped power the Eagles to leads of as many as 48-30 after two quarters.

In the other game, Alex Compton sizzled with 34 points, including 17 in the fourth period as Sunkist-UST snapped out of a three-game skid with an 82-75 victory over Montaña.

Reed Juntilla, a rookie out of Cebu City, Emerson Oreta, Francis Mercado and Eugene Tan put the Lamoiyan franchise to within seven points at 63-70 midway in the fourth quarter but Fonacier entered the fray and deliver the clutch baskets.

Oreta finished with 16 points while Clarke Moore and Juntilla added 15 points each but their effort proved not enough to keep the Teeth Sparklers from absorbing their third loss against the same number of wins.