PBL: Tang leads Batang Pier in beating Nationals

Games Thursday 25 October 207 The Arena, San Juan 2 p.m. – Mail & More vs RP Team 4 p.m. – Pharex vs Toyota Balintawak The Harbour Centre Batang Pier toppled the Philippine Team, 83-74, in a blitzkrieg led by TY Tang, who scored his career best of 26 points on Tuesday at the 2008 PBL V-Go Extreme Energy Drink Cup at the Emilio Aguinaldo College gym in Manila. Tang, the 5-foot-10 point guard of the La Salle Green Archers, played with the Batang Pier as if he had been with the team for a long time, even overcoming Jason Castro, former standout of the Philippine Christian University Dolphins and back-to-back MVP of the Phililippine Basketball League (PBL). Actually, Tang practiced with the Batang Pier for only three days. So hot was the 23-year-old that the stars of the Southeast Asian Games-bound Nationals just shook their heads in disgust each time he knocked in a basket. Tang made all but one of his five attempts from the three-point zone and converted 4-of-4 from the stripes. In all, he produced 9-of-14 field goals. "It's really my dream to play for Harbour Centre, so when Dr. Mikee Romero told me that he was interested in getting me, I said yes immediately," Tang said after the game. "I was really challenged to play hard." His performance also caught the fancy of several team officials, including RP team manager Erick Arejola. "He has matured a lot since helping La Salle win the UAAP championship," Arejola said. The Nationals took a 25-16 first quarter lead, as Jeff Chan and Erick de la Cuesta buried a triple each in a bristling 7-0 run. But the Batang Pier, gunning for a fourth straight PBL championship, rallied in the second quarter with Tang knocking in 9 points to tie the game at 46-all at the end of the first half. Harbour Centre steadily pulled away from RP team in the third when Edwin Asoro joined forces with Fil-Am Solomon Mercado and Tang to post a 68-60 lead with still 68 ticks left. The Nationals tried to make a run of their own, but poor shooting and numerous turnovers did them in. Even Harbour Centre coach Jorge Gallent acknowledged the mistakes, and even joked that the National did not play their best – and most of them were once Batang Pier themselves "Baka pinagbigyan nila ako," Gallent said, smiling. The scores First Game Harbour Centre (83): Tang 26, Mercado 13, Maierhofer 8, Asoro 8, Vergara 8, Gaco 6, Malababan 6, Jahnke 4, Taylor 2, Gamboa 2, Ababou 0, Cañizares 0, Gonzales 0 RP Team (74): Castro 19, Belga 11, Alonzo 10, Crisano 9, Chan 8, Dela Cuesta 6, Salangsang 3, Cruz 3, Cabahug 3, Bautista 2, Tan 0, Fernandez 0 Quarter scores: 18-25; 46-46; 70-61, 83-74

- GMANews.TV