ANTIPOLO CITY, 10 November 2007 — James Yap took care of business just as when Purefoods looked in danger of falling apart. When the dust settled Purefoods remained perfect in the PBA Philippine Cup.

Yap took over after Purefoods began to miss and the Coca-Cola Tigers rallied.

Yap, a former MVP, hit a jumper just inside the three-point arc with six seconds remaining to seal Purefoods’ sixth straight victory, 88-86 over Coca-Cola, last night at the Ynares Center here.

Yap’s basket ended a Purefoods three-minute and a half scoring drought and also a 13-point Coca-Cola rally in that same stretch in a bid to be the first team to deal the Giants a loss this season. The Tigers dropped to 1-4 after controlling the first half and staying in step with the Giants in the second. The only time Coca-Cola lost its grip on the game was when John Arigo left the court on an injury halfway through the fourth and Purefoods took advantage with a run that erected an 86-73 lead.

James Yap, Roger Yap, Kerby Raymundo and Marc Pingris all contributed to that run, but none of them could make a basket after that, until James’ game-winner. The Tigers uncorked 13 straight points capped by a triple from Alex Cabagnot that banked off the glass and knotted the count at 86 with 26 ticks left. But it was Cabagnot who missed at the buzzer to seal Coca-Cola’s doom.

In the first game, Magnolia also looked for a hero and found one in a rookie it drafted to provide its talent-rich squad something to look forward to in the future.

Six-foot-nine Samigue Eman towered his way to 16 points, built around flawless shooting, and a conference-high five blocks to lead the Beverage Masters to a 112-108 victory over the Alaska Aces.

The Scores:

First Game:

Magnolia (112) Seigle 20, Eman 16, Tugade 14, Ildefonso 12, Hontiveros 11, Tenorio 10, Gonzales 10, E. Villanueva 9, J. Villanueva 5, Fonacier 5, Racela 0.

Alaska (108) Miller 28, Cortez 17, Hugnatan 16, Ferriols 12, Laure 10, Bono 9, Thoss 9, Cariaso 5, Dela Cruz 2, Capus 0.

Quarterscores: 21-27, 47-48, 76-all, 112-108

Second Game

Purefoods (88) Raymundo 21, Yap 19, Simon 11, Pngris 8, Adducul 8, Salvador 7, Yap 6, Sanz 3, Lanete 3, Cablay 2, Larong 0, Yee 0.

Coca-Cola (86) Arigo 19, Cabagnot 15, Buenafe 14, Isip 9, Peek 7, Catli 6, Tolomia 6, Enrile 4, Telan 4, Caceres 2, Calimag 0.

Quarterscores: 21-17, 38-40, 63-60, 88-86.