Harbour opens drive for five

Harbour Centre and Hapee Toothpaste bring their deep-seated rivalry to another level – and a different venue – as they clash in Game One of the best-of-five playoff for the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup crown at the Batangas City Sports Complex in Batangas today.

Expect a slambang showdown starting at 4 p.m. with the Batang Pier out to start their drive for a fifth straight championship on a high note and the Complete Protectors raring to put one over their arch rivals in their own quest for a first title in four years.

This marks the second straight time that the two teams will vie for the crown and third overall in the last four conferences with the Batang Pier winning their last two title encounters.

Harbour swept Hapee in three games three conferences ago before repeating last conference when it rallied from a 0-1 series deficit to sweep the last two games – and the the crown, 2-1.

But man-for-man, Harbour appears to enjoy the edge as the Batang Pier boast of six members of the RP team that captured the gold medal in last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

But Harbour coach Jorge Gallent opted to downplay their chances, stressing that Hapee, which won a back-to-back titles from 2003-04, will indeed be a tough nut to crack.

“Hapee is a tougher team to beat now because they did not only get some players that fit their team well, but also they have a veteran coach who knows how to win,” said Gallent in yesterday’s weekly PSA Forum at the Shakey’s-United Nations.

From the looks of things, the series could be a close encounter although Batang Pier remain the favorite owing to their deep roster and their desire to win a record fifth straight championship.

But Hapee is no pushover. Having been in the finals in three of the last four conferences, the Complete Protectors also show off an equally talented crew headed by Fil-Am Gabe Norwood, one of the leading MVP candidates.

“We’re ready,” said Norwood, the former George Mason standout who already saw action for the national team twice, including the Asian Olympic Qualifier last year in Tokushima, Japan.

Jason Castro, a former two-time MVP who will join the Singapore Slingers in the Australia-based National Basketball League after the final, is expected to carry the cudgels for the Batang Pier.

“We’ll have to play well as a team not individually,” said Castro, a Philippine Christian U standout.

But Alas believes the key in the series will depend on character and how well the bench would perform.

“It’s going to be about character and how the players coming off the bench would perform,” said Alas, on his second finals trip since losing to Harbour in five games two years ago.