DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines: At least in its first game, Burger King proved that it was more than hype after all.
With a new name and a new coach, the old Air21 team got off to a rip-roaring start in the Fiesta Cup last night by routing Sta. Lucia, 96-87, in an out-of-town sortie that formally took the lid off of the season-ending tournament at the Lamberto Macias gym here.
And that result sort of justified all the press releases that the Titans came up with during the short break between tournaments after Gary David scored 16 points and Shawn Daniels 14.
“My initial fears about the chemistry and how the team would absorb my system was partly resolved,” said coach Yeng Guiao, who found this team waiting for him with open arms after he resigned from Red Bull at the end of last year.
“After just 3- to 4 weeks of practice, they have somehow absorbed the system,” he added. “It’s (the win) a good sign, though I also saw some of the weaknesses in this team, foremost among them is that we’re very small.
David, probably the most under-rated shooting guard in the league, had a lot of help from tiny Marvin Cruz, a 5-foot-9 guard out of University of the Philippines, as the duo helped the Titans erase a 49-58 deficit early in the third period.
Burger King detonated a 19-5 bomb from there to rise to a 66-61 lead heading into the final 2:41 of the third period.
And with Ryan Reyes out with a bad back and Dennis Espino nursing the flu, the Realtors became easy pickings when the going got tough deep in the second half as the Titans opened up an 87-73 lead and were never really threatened from there.
“Overall, even if we really don’t have a dominating inside game, I was satisfied,” Guiao, also the national head coach, added. The tournament’s regular two-game schedule starts today with Talk ‘N Text, winner of the Philippine Cup over Alaska just over three weeks ago, shooting to get its campaign here on a solid start when it battles Purefoods at the Araneta Coliseum.
Game time is 6:30 p.m. with the Tropang Texters parading a new import in Tiras Wade and the Tender Juicy Giants tapping Brian Hamilton, also a new face, for the season-ending, import-spiced event.
The Texters had very little time to celebrate their second all-Filipino championship, but the are expected to come out as sharp as they were in the last title series, with coach Chot Reyes drilling them just a week after their title conquest of the Aces.
Rain or Shine, the breakout team of the Philippine Cup, also makes its debut earlier with returnee Charles Clark leading the way in the 3:50 p.m. contest opposite the Barako Bull Energy Boosters.
Scooter McFagdon, measured to be the shortest among the imports at just a shade over 6-foot-3, will banner the Energy Boosters, the old Red Bull team carrying a new name who will be coached by a new in former Ginebra guard face in Leo Isaac.
The Aces plunge into action on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo against San Miguel Beer and former Oklahoma Sooner Nate Carter. Alaska has re-enlisted the versatile Galen Young, formerly of San Miguel, as import.
Defending champion Barangay Ginebra and Coca-Cola, the last two teams in the field, debut in the 7:30 p.m. game on Wednesday against each other, with the Gin Kings to be backstopped by lefty Rod Nealy and the Tigers to be reinforced by JJ Sullinger.
