Harbour goes for sweep, Hapee ending

Two-to-nil up and all-pumped up, Harbour Centre goes for a sweep against a Hapee Toothpaste-PCU side still reeling from a Game 2 heartbreaker and hampered by the likely absence of two of its key players in Game 3 of the PBL Silver Cup final at The Arena in San Juan today.

"We’ll go for it," said Harbour Centre coach Jorge Gallent, after steering the Port Masters to a stirring come-from-behind 63-61 victory in Game 2 Thursday where they battled back from 20 points down. "But we know they’re capable of bouncing back strong because they wouldn’t have made it this far if they’re not that good."

To bounce back without Larry Rodriguez and Ronald Bucao, however, is another matter.

Rodriguez, an MVP contender, and Bucao, an efficient back-up to Mark Moreno, both sprained an ankle in the fourth quarter of Game 2 and are doubtful starters for Hapee in their 3:15 p.m. encounter.

"It will depend on the therapy, we’ll know tomorrow (today) what happens," said Hapee-PCU manager Bernard Yang.

In contrast, the Port Masters, who took the series opener, 84-80, are not only in the best of health but also in the winning mood and are expected to go all out to finish off the Teeth Masters and deliver the second straight crown to owner Mikee Romero.

Expect the Port Masters to rely anew on combination of Chico Lanete, who fired 20 points in Game 2, and a hardworking duo of National U standouts Edwin Asoro and Jonathan Fernandez.

"If Chico plays well, the team follows, if he plays bad, we have to find a way to win," Gallent said. "But the NU boys are contributing significantly in this series."

Hapee-PCU coach Jun Noel, however, vowed to fight back.

"We’ll just need to play more aggressive from start to finish, if we can do that we’ll have a chance to get back in the series," said Noel.

Meanwhile, the league will honor the best achievers in simple awarding rites starting at 2:30 p.m..