Welcoat slips past Granny, shares lead

Eugene Tan sank two pressure-packed charities with barely nine seconds left as Welcoat Paints fashioned out a thrilling 72-69 win over Granny Goose Kornets last night to gain a share of the lead in the 2005 PBL Unity Cup at the FEU gym.

Tan’s heroics defused the Snackmasters’ fightback from 12 points down early in the fourth as the Paintmasters rolled to their third straight victory to catch Open Championship champion Montaña at the helm.

The Snackmasters dropped to 1-2.

Earlier, Bacchus Energy Drink survived a big scare in the fourth quarter before scoring a 67-59 win over Negros Navigation-San Beda squad.

Facing the spectre of another big foldup after blowing what had seemed to be a huge 28-point lead in the third quarter, the Energy Kings went to Michael Holper in the final two minutes to repulse Negros’ rally and notch their first win in three starts.

More than barging into the win column, Bacchus, formerly Air Philipppines, likewise ended a 14-game losing run dating back to the Open Championship.

Fil-Am Anthony Washington topscored for the Paint Masters with 21 points but it was tiny Paolo Orbeta, one of three players from St. Benilde, who struck hardest for Welcoat. Aside from finishing with 11 points, including six from 3-point zone, Orbeta provided the hustle and leadership on the court.

Meanwhile, commissioner Chino Trinidad issued an apology for a statement he made about the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) being controlled by "a cartel of Chinese," saying he never meant to malign anyone’s ethnicity.

Trinidad, however, said he will not recant his calls to abolish the country’s national sports association for basketball, saying he is merely expressing the frustration of millions of Filipino sports fans who have been clamoring for a revamp in the body to give active leagues more "representation" which it does not have under the current set-up.