The Tigers of Coca-Cola are slowly but surely unleashing their vicious form in the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association.
The Tigers let loose their newfound ferocity in pulling off a king-sized upset win over the league-leading Alaska Aces, 105-92, for their first back-to-back victory in the tournament Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Coca-Cola’s win came a game after it dismantled the Burger King Whopper of coach Yeng Guiao. The Tigers notched only their third win in 14 matches, but that was enough to temporarily bolt them out of the cellar.
For the Aces, it was only their second loss in 13 games. Curiously, the two losses suffered by the Aces came at the expense of lowly-ranked teams – the other one was against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
“What I’ve been trying to realize is that when we fight for a game, it doesn’t matter who we’re up against. We’re on a level right now wherein the most important thing is we get together to fight for a win. Never mind which team we’re up against," said Coca-Cola coach Bo Perasol.
The Tigers were spearheaded by Asi Taulava, the leader of the pack, who had a double-double performance of 18 points and 12 rebounds.
“Asi is really trying to brush determination onto his teammates," added Perasol, whose squad dominated the game from start to finish.
A Taulava assist to Norman Gonzales in the early part of the final period gave the Tigers their biggest taste of the lead, 90-60, still 9:02 left.
Mark Macapagal top scored for Coca-Cola with 19 points while another veteran, Dennis Espino, also tallied 18 markers. Two more Tigers finished in double figures – Marvin Cruz (11) and Larry Rodriguez (10).
It was Coca-Cola’s first victory over Alaska the past two seasons. The Aces prevailed over the Tigers in all their seven previous meetings. The last time Coca-Cola won over Alaska was in January 2006 – a 99-98 overtime win on a buzzer-beater by Denok Miranda, then the starting point guard of the Tigers.
The Scores:
COKE 105 - Macapagal 19, Taulava 18, Espino 18, Cruz 11, Rodriguez 10, Gonzales W. 8, Cabagnot 7, Ross 6, Bono 2, Rizada 2, Calimag 2, Gonzales 2.
ALASKA 92 - Miller 17, De Vance 16, Borboran 15, Thoss 10, Hugnatan 10, Tenorio 9, Dela Cruz 8, Fonacier 4, Cablay 2, Cariaso 1, Burtscher 0, Ferriols 0.
QUARTERS: 29-16, 55-34, 82-55, 105-92
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