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WHEN young and dynamic businessman
Mikee Romero decided to join the Philippine Basketball League, his
main goal is to make his vastly growing company, Harbour Centre, the
No.1 team.
Two years and
four tournaments, Harbour Centre established itself as the
league’s premier ball club which it validated last Saturday by
winning its second straight championship in a fashion everybody
wanted it to be: Swift and convincing.
Hardened by
their grueling semis showdown with budding rival Toyota Otis, the
Port Masters crushed Hapee Toothpaste-Philippine Christian
University, 86-73, to cap yet another dominating performance in the
Silver Cup.
In sweeping
the best-of-five title series, Harbour Centre thus joined the elite
club of back-to-back champions that included past great ball clubs
like Welcoat Paints, Stag and Hapee.
“When we won
Game 2, I knew we had a chance of sweeping the series, so I
challenged the boys to aim for that goal. Thankfully, they responded
and delivered,” enthused Romero. “I did not think that we can
achieve our goal this fast. Ang sarap pala ng feeling ng mag
back-to-back.”
But Romero
said their campaign in the season-opening tournament was not without
troubles.
Just like in
winning the Unity Cup last year, the team went through difficult
times.
“We had
another shaky start but that made us even much stronger,” recalled
Romero. “With so many newcomers in the team, medyo nagkakahiyaan
pa sila but as the tournament goes on, they played the way we
envisioned them to be.”
Even team
manager Erick Arejola and coach Jorge Gallent spent some sleepless
nights during the early stage of the tournament trying to figure out
what went wrong with their players. They went 2-3 (win-loss) after
dropping their opening game against Hapee and losing two in a row.
“Nakaka-bad
trip noong una kasi puro talo kami, mabuti na lang nag-step up ang
mga bata. Ang maganda dun, halos sabay-sabay silang nag-deliver,”
said Arejola. “Parang diesel talaga kami.”
Gallent
agreed.
JC Intal, the
flamboyant former Ateneo star, started Harbour’s climb to the top
by coming up with one wondrous game after another. Then came veteran
Chico Lanete who provided the team the steadying factor.
Actually,
heroes came aplenty for the Port Masters.
In the semis,
Ryan Arana and Jay Coching gave marvelous Marvin Cruz hell with
their gritty defensive effort. For the uninitiated, the 5-foot-7
Cruz was the heart and soul of Toyota Otis.
Allan Gamboa,
Ron Capati and National University standouts—Jonathan Fernandez
and Edwin Asoro—had their own moments of glory, too. Same thing
for Al Vergara and Marvin Ortiguerra.
Although
everybody contributed to the cause, Romero and Gallent reserved
their best praise to Lanete.
“He stood
tall in the land of giants, said Gallent. “He created plays but
most of the time, he made the big shots for us. He’s ripe for the
pro league.”
With his
brilliant all-around performance, Lanete was later adjudged the
Finals MVP, while Fernandez took the Pivotal Player ward for his
deadly sniping in Game 3.
Fernandez
knocked in 23 points, including five triples, as he opened the
floodgate for the team’s final burst midway in the payoff period.
The absence of
rising star Larry Rodriguez due to sprained left foot made it easier
for Harbour Centre to seal the title.
While their
conquest of Hapee appeared easy, Gallent confessed that he had a
hard time matching up with the boys of coach Jun Noel, saying:
“They played as a team, very persistent just like coach Jun. Kaya
saludo talaga ako sa kanila.”
With the
team’s never-say-die attitude and the passion of Romero to the
game, experts are one in saying that Harbour Centre is headed to
building its own dynasty in the league.
Why not?
Harbour Centre
has almost everything—the resources, character and glamour.
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