PBL: Hapee takes on Pharex, hopes to revive fading semis bid

MANILA, Philippines – Hapee Toothpase takes on Pharex Saturday aiming to earn a needed win that could revive its fading hopes of earning an outright semis bid while Bacchus aims for its third straight win against Toyota Otis at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. The Complete Protectors are expected to throw their full weight against the Generix as they aim to bounce back from a sorry 106-103 loss to the Energy Warriors a week ago. Despite the loss, Hapee remains a contender for an outright semis berth. Holding a 4-4 card, Hapee needs to win its last four games to keep their hopes alive of earning one of the four semis slots. A loss against Pharex would end Hapee’s hopes of an outright final-four berth. “We want to have a (very) Merry Christmas, so I told the boys to give their all," said Hapee team manager Bernard Yang. “It’s hard to celebrate the holidays with so many things to think." The Generix are fighting to stay alive and in order to advance to the quarterfinal stage they must sweep their last four games. Bacchus, meanwhile, will rely on the game-long brilliance of guard Paul Lee as they test a Toyota team loaded with collegiate stars JV Casio of La Salle and Letran’s RJ Jazul. Lee is currently leading the Energy Warriors’ charge scoring a career-high 27 points in their win against Hapee. The Sparks of lawyer Rey Oben, however, scored a 91-86 win over the Energy Warriors in the first round. – GMANews.TV Standings W L Harbour 8 1 Magnolia 7 2 Hapee 4 4 Bacchus 4 5 Toyota Otis 3 5 Burger King 3 6 Pharex 1 7