Harbour 5 takes luster off Jewels

Harbour Centre unloaded enough firepower to scuttle last year’s champion Montana Pawnshop, 68-60, and make an opening statement on its title bid in the PBL Heroes Cup at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao, Quezon City.

Filling the void left by LA Tenorio and Mark Cardona, Joseph Yeo fired 13 points as the Port Masters nailed their first win against the Jewels after getting swept in two games in the Unity Cup early this year.

"Everybody I sent in contributed, that’s the most important thing," said Harbour coach Dindo Pumaren, who took over the coaching job from Tonichi Yturri who assumed a managerial post before the conference.

Alex Compton, who is playing his last conference, sizzled with 18 points but the Jewels struggled without some key players from the victorious team of the 2004 Champions Cup.

Montaña lost two-time league MVP Jondan Salvador and Al Magpayo to the pro-ranks while Froilan Baguion was curiously released for unknown reasons.

Playing full-court press to near perfection, the Port Masters slowly broke loose in the second quarter when they turned a 15-12 first quarter lead to a 31-23 advantage at the break.

Then came Yeo, the prolific guard from La Salle who teamed up with Red Vicente, a rookie out of San Sebastian, in a third quarter run that zapped the fight out of the Jewels.

Compton, slowed down by an array of injuries, tried to inject life into Montaña’s fading cause by churning in 10 points in the final period but he couldn’t get enough support to ease Harbour’s unrelenting attack.

Earn Saguindel stepped up with starting guard Ryan Dy getting into early foul trouble and anchored Harbour’s swarming full court press.

"He didn’t score that much but he helped us in many other ways," said Pumaren.

Earlier, Hapee Toothpaste-Philippine Christian University pounced on the newcomer Far Eastern Insurance’s atrocious free throw shooting as it fashioned out a 65-54 victory for its first win since taking a leave of absence for two conferences.

PCU standout Jason Castro paced the Teeth Sparklers with 18 points while Mark Moreno, a rookie from West Negros College in Bacolod City who played for the Lamoiyan franchise’s farm team in Cebu, contributed 14 points.