Hapee, Viva arrange title showdown

Hapee Toothpaste and Viva Mineral Water pulled off contrasting victories yesterday to arrange a best-of-five showdown for the Sunkist PBL Unity Cup crown at the Makati Coliseum.

The Teeth Sparklers leaned on an early run and bucked Gary David’s fourth quarter explosion to turn back Montana Pawnshop, 86-83, and barge into the finals for the second straight time.

The Water Force, on the other hand, drew strength from a grieving teammate as they walloped ousted John-O, 100-65, earlier to join the Lamoiyan group in the finals set June 7 in Lucena City, Quezon.

Joel Co and Cesar Catli led the rampage with a combined score of 30 points although it was the duo of Warren Ybañez and Dennis Miranda who did most of the damage, finishing with 14 markers, 11 rebounds and the same number of assists in a pair of superb efforts.

"This one’s for Jeff’s father," said Viva coach Coy Banal referring to Jeff Napa’s dad, SPO Rey, who passed away two weeks ago.

Napa, a shooter out of National University, managed to chip in seven points.

Hapee, which lost to Welcoat in last year’s Challenge Cup finals, erected a 22-point third quarter lead but had to scramble down the stretch to pound out the victory.

"Final’s ulit," were the first words uttered by Hapee mentor Junel Baculi in the post game interview following the win.

The Jewellers, who rode literally on David’s shoulders, had one more chance to force overtime with two seconds left in the contest but pointguard Topex Robinson lost the ball at the buzzer.

David finished with 30 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter, but failed to deliver when Jewellers needed them most.