Hapee pounds Sista for solo lead

Mark Borboran and Jayson Castro combined in a key fourth quarter run as Hapee Toothpaste subdued Sista, 71-66, yesterday to seize the solo lead in the PBL Silver Cup in Sucat, Parañaque.

Borboran, a rookie out of University of the East, dished out career highs 17 points and 10 rebounds to help power the Teeth Sparklers to their third straight win for the solo lead in the early going of the tournament.

"All the teams are strong, we want to be one of them," said Hapee-PCU coach Jun Noel. "Maybe we’ll get some respect after this win."

The team fared miserably in the last two conferences despite the presence of now PBA rookie Gabby Espinas.

Castro, an MVP candidate the last two conferences, fired eight of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and added two free throws and another basket down the stretch to seal the victory.

The Philippine Christian U standout also had nine rebounds, a conference high five steals and four assists in an all-around effort that impressed his coach.

"Jayson Castro is our go-to guy, he carried us through again," Noel said.

Conrad Fritz Bauzon drained four triples to finish with a game-high 19 points. He sizzled for 14 points in the first half but got shackled in the second half that hastened the Super Sealers’ downfall.

Cebuana Lhuillier-Pera Padala came through with big triples in overtime as it pulled off a thrilling 89-85 win over Magnolia Ice Cream in the second game.

Macky Escalona, Mark Abadia and veteran Erick dela Cuesta buried a triple each in the extra period as the Cebuana Lhuillier finally took the sting out of the Spinners for their second win in three outings. Magnolia absorbed their second straight defeat.

As expected, Ken Bono led the Moneymen with 21 points and 10 rebounds while the wily Escalona and Abadia chipped in 16 and 13, respectively, for CL-Pera Padala.