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SAN MIG COFFEE kept its bid for a second
twice-to-beat advantage in the
quarterfinals round alive following an 86-69 demolition of Toyota
Otis while Harbour Centre got back into the winning track on Tuesday
in the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup at the Emilio Aguinaldo
College gym in Manila.
After struggling in the quarter,
the Coffee Kings waxed hot in the second quarter, exploding for 28
points while holding the Sparks to just 19 points to post a 44-42
lead at the break.
A bristling 10-3 run at the start
of the third quarter which Leo Losentes fueled with a booming triple
gave the Coffee Kings a sizable 54-45 lead which they protected to
finish the elimination round with a 7-8 card, the same record of the
Sparks.
For the Coffee Kings to secure
the second twice-to-beat bonus in the next round, they have to pray
for a Burger King victory over Pharex on Thursday.
With an 8-6 mark, the Whoppers
are assured of a twice-to-beat bonus regardless of what happens to
their game on Thursday.
In the first game, Harbour Centre
bounced back from its shocking defeat to Pharex by crushing Bacchus
Energy Drink behind a whirlwind fourth quarter assault, 81-64.
Fil-Am Sol Mercado and Jason
Castro finished what Dylan Ababou started as the two high-flying
guards combined for 15 of the team’s 26-point fourth quarter
output to complete Harbour’s big comeback.
Custodio sizzled with 18 points
to lead San Mig Coffee’s well-balanced attack.
With the team’s big guns
getting hard time finding their rhythm in the first three quarters,
the 6’4” Ababou produced his best game in the season-ending
tournament by knocking in 21 points, eight of them in the third
where the Batang Pier managed to cut Bacchus lead down to 55-56
going into the final 10 minutes.
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