Bidang Generix smother Titans, force rubber

MANILA, Philippines - Josh Urbiztondo played big coming off the bench, firing a game-high 19 points, including two key charities in the closing seconds, as Pharex overcame Oracle Residences, 73-67, in a highly physical and highly emotional match to force a deciding Game Five in the PBL PG Flex Unity Cup finale at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig yesterday.

MVP awardee Chris Ross struggled for only six points but the Bidang Generix outplayed the Titans in the clutch for the win that tied their best-of-five series at two games apiece.

The two teams clash in a winner-take-all match in the same venue at 3 p.m. tomorrow.

“They’re (the Titans) really tough. They won’t be a six-time champion if they’re not a quality team. But we came out to show a big heart,” said Pharex coach Carlo Tan.

“What happened in the first four games didn’t mean anything anymore. What we need is a quick recovery from this tiring game and come back with the right frame of mind Thursday,” said Tan whose team got a chance to end the Mikee Romero franchise’s long reign as PBL champion.

The Titans didn’t look like a champion team in this particular game, hastening their defeat with miscues and misses at endgame.

They blew their first crack at the title despite the return of national pool members Mark Barroca, Mac Baracael, Aldrech Ramos and JR Cawaling.

Jerwin Gaco, Benedict Fernandez and Chris Timberlake carried the scoring cudgels for the Titans but they themselves lost their shooting touch at the finish.

Three straight field-goal misses by Rico Maierhofer and an inbound error by Barroca allowed the Bidang Generix to eventually win the game.

Urbiztondo, a Fil-Am second-string guard, stood out for the Generix as he rifled in five three-pointers and finished with 19 that included two charities making it 71-67 with time down to 18 seconds.

Ronnie Matias was also productive with 16 points but he committed crucial errors derailing what could have been Pharex’s trouble-free finish.

Matias was called for an offensive foul on Barroca while Pharex was already looking to clinch the win with a 69-66 lead with less than a minute left to play.

Oracle failed to capitalize, but got another lease on life as Matias was later called for an unsportsmanlike foul also on Barroca.