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BAGUIO CITY?Even at its worst, Harbour Centre showed that it could still pull off a victory.
Yet coach Jorge Gallent doesn?t want his four-time Philippine Basketball League champions to push their luck against San Mig Coffee in Game 2 of the Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup semifinals at 3 p.m. Monday at the University of Cordilleras gym.
?We have already discussed the things that almost brought us down,? said Gallent. ?We can?t afford to repeat the mistakes we did in Game 1.?
Hapee Toothpaste will also shoot for a commanding 2-0 lead despite the absence of young stalwart Jervy Cruz in its own best-of-five Final Four series against Burger King at 5 p.m.
Both the Whoppers and the Coffee Kings have yet to win a game this conference against their two league-leading opponents.
Just three days ago, Batang Pier survived a late meltdown and held on to a narrow 76-74 triumph over the Coffee Kings in the semifinal opener in Tarlac.
The top-ranked squad muffed all its shots in the final two minutes and missed four of its last six free throws.
Luckily for Batang Pier, San Mig?s explosive scorer Bonbon Custodio also missed all his attempts in the fourth period, including a potential game-tying basket at the buzzer.
Gallent said Batang Pier?s defense will stay focused on Custodio.
?We have to improve our transition defense to stop Bonbon,? said Gallent. ?We also have to be extra sharp in executing our pick and roll.?
Struggling since posting a 12-0 winning streak, Batang Pier lost two of their last three elimination-round games and still looked out of sync in the semifinals.
But league star Jason Castro and Fil-Am guard Solomon Mercado helped Batang Pier stay afloat in Game 1 against the Coffee Kings.
Mercado posted a game-high 24 points, while Castro remained sensational with 18 markers, nine rebounds and eight assists.
The Complete Protectors also turned to old reliables Mark Borboran, Reed Juntilla, Larry Rodriguez and slam dunk champion Gabe Norwood in forging an 82-70 Game 1 triumph over the Whoppers.
Despite playing minus their key post threat, the star-studded Complete Protectors still proved too much for the Whoppers in the second half and even led by as many as 23 points.
Cruz, the reigning UAAP Most Valuable Player, will miss the rest of the semifinals due to a left hamstring injury sustained after slipping during the halftime warm-ups in the series opener.
Hapee coach Louie Alas credited his wards for efficiently executing a zone press defense that kept the Whoppers scoreless for over six minutes in the third period. Jasmine W. Payo
