MANILA, 3 August 2003 — Coca-Cola, still hurting and angry after losing the All-Filipino Cup title to Talk N Text, vented those feelings against San Miguel Beer, carving out a 98-93 victory on Friday night to start their campaign on a high note in the Samsung PBA Invitationals at the Astrodome.
Rudy Hatfield came up with his 18th double-double of the season, notching 23 points and 10 rebounds while coming up big despite a late injury in the tight endgame.
He sprained his left foot and had to be taken out with still 3:12 left. He returned with 2:05 to go, with his sixth steal of the game and a dish to Jeffrey Cariaso translated into a lay-up that made it a comfortable 96-91 lead for Coke, only 10 seconds left.
The present was made sweeter by the way it was fashioned. San Miguel, which dropped to an even 1-1 record, battled back from 12 points down and moved to within 91-92 after Danny Ildefonso’s picture-perfect jumper from left quartercourt. Rob Wainwright’s charities made it a three-point game before Hatfield’s frontal swipe off his pressure on Nic Belasco.
It was the first win by Coke since blowing a 2-0 win in the AFC finals. The Phone Pals took the next four games and the crown.
Johnny Abarrientos left the game for good after spraining his right foot with still eight minutes left. But not after leading a late second quarter surge that put the Tigers back from an 18-31 deficit. He wound up with eight points, seven rebounds and 11 assists.
In the second game, Asi Taulava had a career-high 49 points as he terrorized Yonsei University’s thin frontline as Talk ‘N’ Text subdued an injury-bitten but hard-fighting Korean squad, 121-112. And after the win, talk drifted naturally to the past Asian Games.
Led by Jung Goo Jun, Hee Jong Yang and Jung Hyup Lee, the Koreans kept pestering the defense of the reigning All-Filipino champions and drilled holes in the Phone Pals’ perimeter defense. Yonsei made 12 triples. It took individual efforts by Taulava, who also had 21 rebounds, and Jimmy Alapag, who narrowly missed a triple-double with 15 points, nine rebounds and 14 assists, to subdue the stubborn Koreans.
