Wizards rally past speeding Toyota

Dylan Ababou scored all of his 18 points in the second half to power Magnolia Pure Water to a second straight win, a 77-65 drubbing of Toyota Otis for a share of the lead in the 2009 PBL PG Flex Linoleum Cup yesterday at the Emilio Aguinaldo College gym.

The Santo Tomas stalwart teamed up with Al Magpayo, Neil Raneses and Jaypee Alcaraz in a fiery second half charge to turn around a game the Sparks controlled in the first two quarters.

The Wizards notched their second win in as many games, tying them with defending champion Harbour Centre on top of the standings. Toyota Otis remained winless in two starts to join Pharex in the cellar.

Ababou sparked a 9-3 run in the third period as the Wizards finally took control, 56-53, heading into the fourth. His three-pointer made it 63-55, before the UST forward pushed the lead to its biggest at 74-65 under a minute remaining.

Earlier, Fil-Am Josh Vanlandingham put on a shooting clinic and led Hapee to its breakthrough win in the tournament, a 91-76 rout of Burger King.

The 6-foot-3 shooting forward out of Pacific Lutheran College, an NCAA Division II school, went 4-of-4 from three-point range, including three straight late in the first half that complete the Complete Protectors’ breakaway.

Vanlandingham topscored for the team with 14 points in only six minutes of play.

Hapee tied its victim in the standings with an even 1-1 card as Gee Abanilla notched his first win as coach of the franchise.

“He’s a shooter, but when we got him, he’s not in his best shape,” said Abanilla of his prized Fil-Am player. “That’s why we just used him sparingly to make him feel the game.”

“For this game, we covered some finer points and made the adjustments. We were able to execute our transition and we were able to run,” said Abanilla of Hapee’s running game that was completely negated in the team’s 84-88 loss to Bacchus Energy the last time.

The Complete Protectors were protecting a slim 44-43 lead with 1:49 left in the second quarter when Vanlandingham suddenly caught fire.

Three consecutive treys by the Hapee rookie capped a closing 12-0 run, allowing the Complete Protectors to sit on a comfortable 55-43 at the half.

His last trey for the game with 8:03 to go in the fourth period gave Hapee its biggest lead at 82-61.

Burger King’s 88-80 overtime win over Bacchus two days ago appeared to have left the team weary as only Borgie Hermida and Rogermar Menor carried the fight for the Stunners in the second half.

Hermida and Menor combined for 18 of the team’s 20 points in the fourth period, but not enough to turn the tide to Burger King’s favor.