Noosa halts Hapee 5 on Javier trey

Dom Javier banged in a triple at the buzzer as Noosa Shoes pulled off a shock 77-76 win over fancied Hapee Toothpaste, yesterday in the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum last night.

It was Javier’s third triple in the game which the Shoe Stars dominated in the first two quarters until the Complete Protectors asserted their might and seized control in the final half.

But just when they thought they had scuttled the upset bid of the Shoe Stars, Javier came through with that game-winner, ending the Complete Protectors’ win run at three while notching their second victory in three starts.

“ I told him (Javier) to let it fly when he has the ball and I’m so glad he made it,” said Noosa coach Leo Isaac.

The win was fitting gift to Noosa team owner and former league chair Dioceldo Sy, who celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday.

Down by two with 2.5 seconds to go, the Shoe Stars went to Javier, who received a pass from reigning NCAA MVP Kelvin dela Peña from beyond the arc before heaving that Hail Mary shot that swished through the net.

Javier, runner-up to 2004 NCAA rookie MVP Gabby Espinas, wound up with 18 points while Allan Evangelista scattered 13 points, including six straight in the stretch that kept Noosa back in the contest.

The Complete Protectors, runners-up to four-peat champion Harbour Centre last conference, actually had the game under wraps but Evangelista snatched an errant pass by Larry Rodriguez, paving the way for Javier’s heroics.

Earlier, San Mig Coffee whipped Pharex, 91-82, for its first win in three games.

Neil Raneses paced the Coffee Kings with 17 points, including seven from the free throw line before he was taken out in the third quarter after he hurt his nose in a collision with the Medics’ Ronnie Matias.

San Mig overpowered Pharex in the paint with 50 boards, including seven from Raneses and 10 from Joel Solis and nine shot blocks against the 45 rebounds and three blocks by the latter.

“We have to have faith to stay positive considering all the trials and challenges we faced and so we decided to go back to the basics,” said San Mig coach Koy Banal, whose last championship came in back-to-back wins from 2003 to 2004.