Harbour Centre steps closer to final

Harbour Centre outmaneuvered and outgunned Hapee Toothpaste in the second half and repeated with a 72-66 win to move a win short of the 2009 PBL PG Flex Linoleum Cup finale at the Ynares Arena in Pasig yesterday.

Veterans Al Vergara, Nestor Asoro, Jerwin Gaco and Reed Juntilla and rookie Mark Barocca played key roles as the Batang Pier came through with a follow-up on their 85-61 win in the series opener.

They go for the clincher at 2 p.m. Tuesday over at The Arena in San Juan.

Meanwhile, Paul Lee hit two pressure-packed charities in the last 12.4 seconds as Bacchus Energy got back at Magnolia Purewater, 87-83, in Game Two of their own best-of-five semis showdown.

The Energy Warriors got off to a hot start, leading by as many as 23 points in the second quarter, but had to lean on the steady hands of Lee and the defensive gem of Orlando Daroya to avoid total collapse.

After a long and determined chase, the Wizards came to within 83-85 on a charity by veteran Neil Raneses with 39 ticks left.

Magnolia even had a chance to tie but Daroya blocked a shot by Neil Pascual.

Daroya also made his presence felt on the offensive end, tossing in 16 points to lead four other Bacchus players in doubles figures. Guevarra and John Colina had 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Lee and Rudy Lingganay added 10 apiece.

“I had to commend my players for not giving up. They really persevered today,” said Bacchus coach Lawrence Chongson.

The Energy Warriors started the game with a 14-0 run and steadily pulled away in the second quarter to lead by 23 at 46-23 lead.

Raneses and Eder Sadua combined for 11 points in the third quarter where the Wizards started to make a comeback.

The 6-foot-4 Daroya was extra hot in the second quarter where he buried three triples. He finished the opening half with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the three-point zone.

Daroya’s red-hot shooting somehow rubbed off to his teammates, notably James Martinez who was 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. Guevarra and Lee added a trey each.

Their shooting was remarkable in the first half, making 19 of 38 tries, including 8-of-16 from the three-point zone. That made up for their poor rebounding as they got only 13 as against the Wizards’ 20.

The Wizards also shot well, making 14 of 29 tries – the bulk of them coming from Dylan Ababou and Al Magpayo who combined for 23 points.