Pharex shares lead; AddMix alive

MANILA, Philippines - Streaking Pharex B-Complex stalled the semis bid of Cossack Blue with an emphatic 96-66 win to grab a share of the lead in the 2010 PBL PG Flex Erase Placenta Cup at The Arena in San Juan.

With Woody Co, Vic Manuel and Arvin Braganza leading Pharex’s assault, the Fighting Maroons got off to a fiery start, taking a 32-11 lead at the end of the first quarter on the way to their third straight win to tie their victim at the helm on similar 4-1 records.

Showing none of the enthusiasm and energy they dished out in winning their first four games, including thrilling wins over sister team Cobra and Ani-FCA, the Spirits fell behind by 30 points, 68-38, in the third quarter.

The Spirits made a decent attack late in the third but the Fighting Maroons refused to be cowed, coming through with their own run to complete the day of routs.

Earlier, AddMix held Ani-FCA to just 19 points in the final two quarters as the Transformers romped to a 90-49 win and kept its semis bid alive.

The Transformers of coach Leo Austria led only by 10 points at halftime, 40-30, before turning on the heat starting in the third quarter where they limited the Cultivators to just seven points while exploding for 22 points to take a commanding 62-37 lead going into the final 10 minutes.

Unforgiving to the very end, the Transformers, owned by Gilbert Cruz, came through with a 10-2 run midway in the payoff period to practically settle the issue, 80-48.

With the win, the Transformers improved their record to 2-3 while handing the Cultivators their fifth straight defeat, thus becoming the first team to be eliminated in this short tournament.

Ani-FCA’s 41-point defeat was the largest losing margin since Red Bull defeated Montana, 89-45, on May 17, 1999.

Cossack’s James Martinez was a huge letdown, scoring only nine points after averaging 20 points in the team’s last three wins.

Woody Co led the Fighting Maroons with 18 points, including nine from the three-point zone while Vic Manuel added 13.

“It’s good thing we won again – this is crucial for us, it’s a morale-boosting one,” said Austria. “But we can’t relax. We need to win our remaining two games to make sure we advance to the semis.”

What made the win doubly significant for Austria was the way his boys closed out the match.

“It doesn’t matter if we win by one point as long as we closed out the game well. That’s what’s important for me,” added Austria.

AddMix battles Pharex B-Complex on Thursday before closing out their campaign against Cossack Blue on March 18.

Alex Nuyles led the team’s well-balanced attack with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting while Canada added 14 markers. Jeff Morial and Terre Guillermo were the two other AddMix players who scored in double figures with 10 points.

So tight was AddMix’s defense that only veteran Mark Cagoco scored in double figures for Ani-FCA. Veteran James Sena, who was drafted by San Miguel Beer last year, scored only six points.