The Tigers put a defensive blanket on Sammy Monroe and the Coffee Masters, as the Tigers ripped them apart, 97-74, in a Fiesta Conference elimination game that downplayed Penny’s status as one of the best imports in the lot.

Penny, a champion while, ironically with the Barako Coffee franchise four seasons ago, scored 27 points, plucked down 13 boards and had seven assists in a sterling effort, as he rose to the challenge posed on him by coach Bo Perasol.

“I challenged James (Penny) and told him that everyone was not talking about him (but of Monroe),” Perasol later said. “But he proved (tonight) that he is one of the best (imports here). I really required him to score, because we need a scorer.”

Penny made life difficult for every Coffee Masters that attempted a basket inside the paint, challenging practically every shot while being the Tigers’ last line of defense.

Incidentally, it was defense that keyed the Coca-Cola win as the Tigers got Monroe out of his sweet spot early, holding him to just three free throws in the first half that had Coke taking a 42-27 lead at the turn.

The first Monroe basket, after he went 0-for-8 from the field in the first two periods, came with more than three minutes elapsed in the third. It was a dunk that sort of ignited him, but Monroe proved to be too fatigued to do more damage the rest of the way.

Monroe, after a 39-point, 11-rebound debut in a 97-93 victory over Sta. Lucia last Sunday, still went on to finish with 25 points, but most of them came during garbage time.

“Our defense was planned on minimizing Monroe. We got him out of his rhythm in the first half,” Perasol explained. “I think some of it (Monroe baskets) were not significant (anymore). I felt we did a good defensive job on him.”

Gary David hit 17 points and Asi Taulava added 11.

Coca-Cola’s bench players then completed the rout in the fourth period, when Norman Gonzales came off the bench to shoot seven straight points in a two-minute span that had the Tigers zooming to an 82-63 lead.

The Tigers were so hot in the fourth quarter that they missed just six of 20 attempts for a scorching 70% clip.

It was such an ugly way for the Coffee Masters to lose, considering that they played with so much class in that victory over the Realtors. Their performance last night, when no one was able to step up after Monroe was bottled up, was reminiscent of how bad they have been playing for the last three tournaments – when they became the only team to be eliminated.

Defending champion San Miguel, meanwhile, survived the loss of import Gabriel Freeman to fouls late in the game to score a 92-87 victory over upset-conscious Air21 in the second game.

Alex Cabagnot, right in his first game with San Miguel, scored 13 points and had six assists, holding the Beermen together during the most critical times, to earn Player of the Game honors and announce his coming as a vital cog in the all-star squad.

“I don’t care what the stats sheets say,” Cabagnot said. “I just want to do the best I can and help the team win. That’s the most important thing.”

Freeman, the winner of the Best Import award last year, still led the Beermen with 23 points and 19 rebounds before being whistled for his sixth foul with under three minutes left and the game still very much in the balance.

Jay Washington chipped in with 19 for the Beermen, who did not play veterans Olsen Racela and Danny Ildefonso. Dorian Pena was also in twin digits with 12 for coach Siot Tanquingcen.

“I can’t say that this was a bad start because we won,” Tanquingcen said. “But there are still a lot of things we can improve on.”

Keena Young paced the Express with 23 points and 21 boards and Ronjay Buenafe had 13 and Beau Belga 12. Ren-Ren Ritualo finished with eight markers and couldn’t free himself in the stretch when Air21 needed a three-pointer.