Hapee thwarts Pharex fightback

Hapee weathered Pharex’s furious rally in the fourth quarter to carve out a 90-84 victory yesterday for its fourth straight win as the Complete Protectors firmed up their hold of second spot in the 2008 PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup at The Arena in San Juan.

Jervy Cruz and Fil-Am Gabe Norwood came through with big baskets down the stretch as the Complete Protectors held off the rallying Medics to notch their eighth win overall against three setbacks.

Earlier, Neil Raneses fired 20 points as San Mig Coffee repulsed Noosa Shoes, 80-73, to post its longest winning run – three – since winning the 2006 Heroes Cup.

Given up for lost after falling behind at 37-64 in the third, the Medics bounced back by scoring on several spurts and a number of Hapee misses until they closed in at 77-83 with still 4:10 remaining in the contest.

But Norwood and Cruz took over for Hapee and combined in a decisive 7-0 blast to douse cold water on Pharex rally, 90-77, with barely two minutes left.

Despite the win, which avenged the team’s loss in the first round, Hapee coach Louie Alas was far from satisfied as his wards gave up 22 offensive rebounds which the Medics translated into baskets.

For the second straight game, Raneses starred for San Mig Coffee, complementing his fine offensive game with eight rebounds.

The 6-foot-4 Raneses, who scored a career-high 29 points in the team’s 86-82 win over Bacchus Energy Drink on Tuesday, delivered the goods down the stretch to finally take the fight out of the Shoe Stars.

With the win, the Coffee Kings jumped to fourth overall in the standings with a 5-5 record. The Shoe Stars slipped to 4-6.

Raneses’ heroics likewise negated the 30-point performance of Noy Javier. The former NCAA star was 11-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-9 from the long range to eclipse his previous best of 22 points he registered while still playing for Sista last year.

The Coffee Kings went through some anxious moments before turning the tide in their favor. The Coffee Kings blasted the Shoe Stars, 86-68, in the first round.

After falling behind by 15 points, 50-35, early in the third period, the Shoe Stars rallied mightily to move within 63-64 with 8:33 remaining.

The Coffee Kings, however, retaliated quickly with JP Alcaraz highlighting a 7-2 run with a triple to ease the tension.

But it was only after Raneses hit four straight points that the Coffee Kings finally sealed the win, 80-69, with only 98 ticks left.