Harbour Centre takes Game 1

Harbour Centre relied on its defense and bench depth to trounce Hapee Toothpaste-PCU, 84-80, yesterday and gain the headstart in their showdown for the PBL Silver Cup crown at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat.

Edwin Asoro, a rookie out of National U, paced a hardworking group of shock troopers with 17 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, that helped power the Port Masters to the victory and a 1-0 lead in their best-of-five series.

"I guess our bench was our edge, particularly Edwin Asoro, he stepped up in this game," said Harbour Centre coach Jorge Gallent, seeking to steer the Mikee Romero-owned franchise to a back-to-back title romp.

The Port Masters gun for win No. 2 tomorrow as action shifts to the Emilio Aguinaldo College gym in Manila. Game 3 is set on Saturday at The Arena in San Juan.

To underscore Harbour Centre’s tough defensive job on key Hapee gunners, Ryan Arana held Jason Castro to just two-of-12 shots from the field and four-of-eight from the free throw line.

"I told Ryan (Arana) to just stick to Jason Castro all the time because he (Castro) has the ability to really take charge in the crucial stretch," said Gallent. "He (Arana) did a great job."

Castro finished with only eight points.

Earlier, Mail and More drew strength from JR Quinahan’s 22 points as it downed Toyota Otis, 77-72, to clinch third place.

The Port Masters actually threatened to pull away from the Teethmasters after Asoro’s twinner gave Harbour a 61-52 lead early in the final period. But Hapee fought back and came through with a 15-6 run to tie the count at 67 midway in the quarter.

After collegiate hotshot JC Intal converted on a foul shot, Hapee’s Mark Borboran, another newcomer out of University of the East, hit a charity of his own and a triple from the left baseline to give the Teeth Sparklers a 71-68 advantage with 4:28 remaining.

But Harbour Centre made timely stops while making clutch baskets and foul shots in the stretch to regain the lead and post the win.

Hapee-PCU mentor Jun Noel blamed their loss on three factors – free throw misses, lack of championship experience and Castro’s sub par performance.

"We missed a lot of free throws," said Noel referring to his team’s woeful 24-of-39 stint from the line, including nine misses in 21 attempts in the last period.

"Our lack of championship experience was also a factor, it also did not help that Jason Castro was off in this game," he added.

Watched by team owner Cecilio Pedro, the Teeth Sparklers leaned heavily on Larry Rodriguez, who led all scorers with 20 points on a near perfect 10-of-11 shooting. But the prolific Hapee stalwart failed to sustain his rhythm and draw support from his teammates down the stretch.