MANILA, 10 June 2003 — Rafi Reavis, the lanky Coca-Cola slotman gamely took on Talk ‘N’Text’s man-mountain, Asi Taulava, on Sunday night and, with a little help from Cris Bolado, succeeded in leading the Samsung-PBA All-Filipino Cup defending champions to a 94-91 win over the Phone Pals at the Araneta Coliseum. Taulava finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds — big numbers that were nothing out of the ordinary for the 248-pound, 6-foot-9 hulk who currently leads the statistical race for the Best Player of the Conference award by a mile.
The bigger surprise was Reavis, at 6-8 and 205 pounds, who received pats on the back on the way to the dugout after Jimmy Alapag, whose four-point play shoved the Phone Pals to within 91-92 with 3.2 seconds left, missed a game-tying three-pointer from way out at the buzzer.
A second or so earlier, Poch Juinio’s two free throws off Victor Pablo turned out to be the final points in a second straight victory that put the Tigers ahead in the short two-group, single-round quarterfinals.
Reavis spent most of his 38 minutes on the floor sticking to Taulava like a second skin while scoring 20 points, hauling down 11 rebounds with three blocks and steals and two assists. The Phone Pals were within 85-88 when injured Tiger Rudy Hatfield followed up a miss by Jeffrey Cariaso that made it a five-point game.
In the second game, Red Bull bucked a big run by Ginebra and left the Kings on the edge of falling off the semifinal race with a 101-93 victory.
Willie Miller led Red Bull with 25 points while Lordy Tugade and Nelson Asaytono chipped in 19 and 18 respectively. Asaytono made it past Allan Caidic in the all-time scoring list, handing the Ginebra coach a double black eye. At half-time of the first game, Red Bull guard Vince Hizon provided the league with a first, getting down on one knee with a bouquet in one hand and a microphone in the other to propose to girlfriend and courtside reporter Patricia Bermudez.
