|
TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite : Fil-Am Gabe Norwood showed flashes of
brilliance to help Hapee Toothpaste dispatch Burger King, 77-72, and
advanced to the finals of the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup
Saturday at the Ayong Maliksi Gym here.
Norwood, the leading candidate for the
conference’s Most Valuable Player award, scored 13 of his
team-high 17 points in the first half when the Complete Protectors
asserted their might in Game 4 of the semifinals series, before
surviving a furious Whoppers endgame rally for the win and a second
straight trip to the championship round.
The Complete Protectors won the best-of-five
series, 3-1.
Now they take another shot at defending champion
Harbour Centre in a rematch of their hard-fought title series last
year that went the full route. The Batang Pier won the matchup by
rallying back from a 19-point second-half deficit in Game 3 to
clinch the crown in overtime.
Game 1 of the championship showdown is set on
Wednesday (May 21) at the Batangas City Sports Complex.
Norwood also added nine rebounds and three
assists in 38 minutes of play in his best game in the semifinal
series, easily atoning for his lackluster eight-point showing in
Game 3 which the Complete Protectors lost, 69-70.
The highly touted shooting guard from George
Mason University was extra deadly in the second period, scoring
seven points as the Complete Protectors outscored the Whoppers,
24-10, to erase a three-point deficit for a 40-29 lead.
Norwood capped the telling run with two
crowd-pleasing dunks, including one off a missed shot by Alfie
Grijaldo.
|
