As it turned out, the Tigers were right all along. They never needed one, as long as Gary David stays sharp.

The league’s No. 1 local scorer hit for 35 points – his second straight production in the 30s – and Powerade unleashed a mighty finishing kick to complete a comeback from 14 points down and stun San Miguel Beer, 99-91, Wednesday night in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.

David shot 5-of-6 from the three-point area, missed only two of his 10 free throws while scoring 26 second half points in lifting the Tigers to their second win in six games that snapped a three-game losing skid and win just their second game in their past 14 outings dating back to the season-opening Philippine Cup.

“It was obviously an uphill climb for us,” said Powerade coach Bo Perasol after the game. “Some people have said that we don’t have quality players, but I told them that we still have a chance at winning. It’s not going to be easy, but we made it happen.” David slew a Goliath, indeed.

He had 11 points in the fourth quarter punctuated by one of the most difficult shots to make – an attempt he launched while he was drifting to the right and at mid-air. That spectacular shot gave the Tigers a 97-89 advantage with only 26.9 seconds left to play.

That was the second consecutive game that David scored in the 30s after an equally splendid 36-point output last Friday against Ginebra.

The result, however, in that contest was far from what the Tigers desired, a 107-92 defeat.

Powerade thus claimed a dramatic improvement in the standings from ninth to sixth with three games left in its elimination round campaign of this short tournament where only six slots are allotted in the playoffs.

Powerade won despite releasing Russel Carter. Carter averaged 32.3 points in five games, but lacked the energy the Tigers wanted.

Martin Zeno, their new import, provided that.

Zeno only had 13 points and five rebounds and was hounded early by fouls, but energized the team when Powerade made the comeback in the fourth quarter. He even completed a three-point play when the game was hanging in the balance to make it 95-89 with 58.4 seconds to go.

The victory by Powerade took away some luster from Ginebra’s win later in the night. The Kings beat Air21 after hanging tough down the stretch in a 99-86 victory.

“We’re still not playing very well,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

“Hopefully we can get there soon. We were ahead (in the game) but we were really not dominating. Still, this is a big win because the run of games we have are tough against the top teams in the league.” The Kings picked up their third victory in five games and dealt the Express their fourth defeat in also five outings. Ginebra’s next set of opponents are San Miguel, Rain or Shine, Talk ‘N Text and undefeated Smart-Gilas.

The most popular ball club actually led by as many as 17 points (59-42), but just as when everything appeared to be okay, Air21 fought back.

The Express threatened to within 87-82, but failed to sustain the charge led by Alpha Bangura, who scored 15 fourth-quarter points.

Nate Brumfield scored four straight points, and Rudy Hatfield completed a three-point play against a lone basket by Danny Seigle as Ginebra broke the game wide open again, 94-84.

Brumfield went on to finish with 26 points and pull down 15 rebounds and issue five steals, while Miller had 18 points and Ronald Tubid 17 on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point land.

Bangura led Air21 with 26 points but only had four rebounds while Seigle contributed 23 points and seven boards. Jay-R Reyes added 13 rebounds and eight points for the Express, who have now lost four in a row after winning their opening game against San Miguel, 92-87.

San Miguel Beer played without main man Jay Washington (left hamstring injury), but was in control most of the way particularly when import David Young knocked in a triple as the Beermen took a 72-58 lead with 3:05 remaining in the third period.

The Beermen just couldn’t sustain it.

The Tigers ended the third period with a 13-4 blast to come to within 76-71, before outscoring the Beermen 28-15 in the fourth. San Miguel Beer was actually held to a lone field goal in the last give minutes where Powerade came through with a 14-4 assault.

“In terms of impact, Zeno is the better import,” said Perasol.

The Beermen thus dropped to 1-4 (win-loss) in the standings. San Miguel Beer has never been eliminated for the playoffs in six years or since the 2005 Fiesta Conference. The 18-time champion franchise still has to play Ginebra, Talk ‘N Text, Derby Ace and Rain or Shine.

Meantime, Commissioner Angelico ‘Chito’ Salud approved Wednesday the request of San Miguel Beer to change its name starting next conference to Petron Blaze.

In a related development, also, the PBA Board of Governors will tackle in a board meeting on March 22 the issue of Barako Bull, which has agreed in principle to sell its franchise to Phoenix Fuel.

The Energy Boosters will be asked to explain why they have suddenly decided to sell their franchise after promising to compete in the third conference even if they filed a leave of absence in the ongoing tournament for reasons Barako Bull said was for the sake of ‘national interest.’ If the board finds Barako Bull’s explanation valid, it will then start the debate whether to accept Phoenix Fuel as a new member of the PBA family. Phoenix Fuel needs two-thirds (seven) of the 10 votes from the governors to be accepted.