PBL: Pharex secures semis seat

Pharex B Complex leaned on the steady showing of its bench players and unleashed a tight defense in the end game to secure the first semifinals seat in the 2010 PBL PG Flex-Erase Placenta Cup via an 86-83 decision over AddMix Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. JR Tecson, Vic Manuel, Marlon Adolfo and Mark Lopez came off the bench to produce at least 10 points each as the Fighting Maroons edged the Transformers, 63-47, in bench scoring.

And when the game was on the line, the team of coach Abboy Castro responded with a stifling defense to overhaul a 78-83 deficit, leaving the Transformers scoreless in the final 4:40. “We made the stops when it counted. We made stops in their last seven to 10 possessions and that was the key to this win," said Castro whose wards secured a semis seat with their league-best 5-1 record. Tecson finished with a team-high 19 points while Manuel had 16 points and 15 rebounds and Adolfo and Lopez added 14 and 10 points, respectively. Starter Woody Co produced 14 markers. Tecson was at his best in the second quarter when he drilled in 16 points to help cushion the impact of the 33 points that AddMix scored in that period. Adolfo, Lopez and Manuel took charge in the fourth stanza, combining in Pharex’s 8-0 endgame bomb. “Well, we’re happy to be in the semis. We actually talked about this game in getting one foot in the finals. It’s pretty early to talk about the finals but we wanted the players to know how important this game is," Castro said. The loss was AddMix’s fourth in six games, endangering the Transformers’ drive to the next round. AddMix started strong in the fourth as Alain Maliksi fired two treys and converted three free throws to give the Leo Austria-mentored squad an 83-78 tear. But Maliksi himself gave the momentum back to the Maroons after committing back-to-back fouls that not only saw him being disqualified on fouls but also allowed Adolfo and Lopez to score three free throws for Pharex. Two more fouls committed by Janus Lozada and Jeff Morial against Adolfo and Lopez, respectively, resulted in a pair of splits that made way for the game’s 11th deadlock at 83-all. Gio Ciriacruz, who had a game-high 20 points for AddMix, was called for an offensive foul and then on the other end, he gave up a personal foul against Manuel, who made a split to give Pharex an 84-83 cushion. AddMix’s Alex Nulyes missed a trey with Manuel grabbing the rebound then going all the way home for an easy lay-up and an 86-83 lead for the Maroons. The Transformers later misfired again in two crucial possessions, their doom sealed when Jan Colina issued a poor pass to Morial that resulted in an error just before the final buzzer. “In our calculation, a 5-2 record will be good enough to land in the top two spots. But I would rather assure our place for the twice-to-beat advantage by going for the win in our last game against Excelroof. They are a strong team with championship experience and playing against them is a good way to prepare us for the next round," Castro said. - GMANews.TV