Hapee takes Game 1 of PBL finals vs Harbour Centre

Game Saturday Trece Martires, Cavite Game 2 of Best-of-Five Series 3 pm – Hapee Toothpaste vs Harbour Centre MANILA, Philippines - Hapee Toothpaste came back from an 18-point deficit and edged Harbour Centre, 74-73, to win Game 1 of the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup Finals held at the Batangas City Sports Center. "I have to give it to my boys," Hapee coach Louie Alas said. "Their patience and resiliency won this match for us. We were down 18 points but they just fought on." The Batang Pier were almost unreachable after they posted a 63-45 lead in the third quarter, according to a PBL statement issued on Wednesday. The Complete Protectors, however, came back into the fight inch by inch, and unleashed a 6-0 rally after Chad Alonzo gave the Batang Pier the lead at 73-68 with 1:26 remaining. Eugene Tan stole the ball from Jason Castro and an assist by Gabe Norwood to Mark Borboran completed the Protectors' run that gave them the lead at 74-73 with 21.5 remaining. Castro tried a last ditch effort to salvage a victory but his drive against Alfie Grijaldo and Borboran was rejected, giving the Complete Protectors to steal the win. Norwood was chosen by the league as its Fantastic Freshman. The award was presented by PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad during the halftime break. Norwood earned the award at the expense of teammate Jervy Cruz and another Fil-American player, Solomon Mercado. Norwood also bagged the Fan Favorite award and was also among the favorites to win the most coveted Most Valuable Player plum. Norwood's teammate Reed Juntilla was selected as Instant Impact cager, while at Dylan Ababou of the Batang Pier was given the True Gentleman award. Scores Hapee (74): Rodriguez 18, Mercado 10, Borboran 10, Norwood 9, Juntilla 7, Grijaldo 7, Tan 6, Hugnatan 4, Espiritu 3, Saguindel 0 Harbour (73): Castro 13, Alonzo 9, Fernandez 9, Gaco 8, Chan 7, Belga 7, Vergara 6, Tang 5, Asoro 5, Mercado 4 Quarters: 15-15; 37-43; 50-63; 74-73

- GMANews.TV