Comets stall Hapee five; Sparks triumph

Mail and More lived for another day as it foiled Hapee Toothpaste-PCU’s sweep bid with a convincing 78-62 victory yesterday even as Toyota Otis ripped Harbour Centre, 73-60, to close in on its second finals appearance in the PBL Silver Cup at the Olivarez Sports Center.

The Comets, who dropped the first two games of their best-of-five series, 65-81, and 67-81, rode on a big second quarter run to seize control, 36-21, then thwarted the Teeth Masters’ fightback in the second half to post the victory and cut Hapee’s lead to 1-2.

Mike Bravo fired 16 points, including four from behind the arc while Elmer Espiritu shone in defense with nine rebounds and five shot blocks while chipping in five points for Mail & More, which also drew 11 points from leading MVP candidate JR Quinahan.

"I just played mind games with him (Quinahan) and it worked," said Mail & More mentor Lawrence Chongson, referring to his prized cager, who also had six rebounds, five assists and three shot blocks.

The victory thus stalled the Lamoiyan-owned franchise’s bid of landing its first finals appearance in three years and sixth overall after snaring three titles in the 90s.

Earlier, Patrick Cabahug came away with 17 points while MVP candidate Marvin Cruz and ex-pro Abby Santos tossed in 16 and 13 points, respectively, as Toyota Otis took a 2-1 edge in their own side of the duel.

"It’s becoming a trend that if we have three players who score in double figures, we’ll win, and it happened today (yesterday)," said Toyota Otis coach Louie Alas.

Game 4 is set tomorrow with the decider, if necessary, slated on Saturday.

The Sparks, who took the opener, 84-77, but dropped Game 2, 74-80, shackled the Port Masters’ gunners with their full-court press despite the absence of top defensive player, Frederick Rodriguez, who served out a one-game suspension for misconduct.

"I just told the players to play tough in his (Rodriguez) absence. They responded to the challenge," said Alas.

Collegiate standout JC Intal sizzled with 16 points, including seven in the third quarter, as the Port Masters knotted the count at 52 at the end of the period.