Harbour 5 seeks grand exit vs Wizards

MANILA, Philippines -- Harbour Centre begins its quest for a sixth straight championship on its farewell stint in the Philippine Basketball League as it takes on Magnolia Purewater today in the PBL PG Flex Linoleum Cup finals at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Batang Pier have vowed to bow out in style in the league they have dominated the last five years, confident of their chances in the best-of-five series.

But the Wizards are expected to come up with a fine defensive job on Harbour’s top gunners the way they did against the Bacchus Energy Warriors, whom they turned back in the semis to gain a crack at the championship.

Gametime is set at 2:30 p.m. with the fired-up Batang Pier tipped to stamp their class in their bid to nail a record sixth straight championship in its last tournament in the league.

Despite their impressive record against the Wizards, whom they swept in the elims, Harbour coach Jorge Gallent said they are not taking their rivals lightly although he wants to close out the series in three.

“They played five games in the semis, so I expect them to be a little tired going into the title series,” said Gallent. “But we have to be aggressive from the start.”

That would mean a lot of hustle and pressure for the Batang Pier in the early going as they need to stifle Magnolia’s playmakers from creating plays for big men Neil Raneses and Al Magpayo, the Wizards’ 1-2 punch.

“Our game plan is to make it close so it will boil down to execution down the stretch,” said Magnolia coach Koy Banal.