MANILA, 25 November 2003 — Tee McClary chose Game One to get back at his estranged team and welcome the arrival of wife Michelle, banging in 44 points in the Coca-Cola Tigers, 88-73 win over Talk ‘N’ Text on Sunday night at the start of the Samsung-PBA Reinforced Conference semifinals at the Araneta Coliseum.
McClary’s vengeful wrath proved too much to bear for a Talk ‘N’ Text team crippled by the absence of injured starting guard Jimmy Alapag as the Tigers got the head start on the same club that beat them in the last All-Filipino finals.
“We no longer entertain thoughts about our loss to Talk ‘N’ Text in the All-Filipino Conference. In fact, we’ve narrowed our vision to every game in this series and see how far we can go,” said Coke coach Chot Reyes. McClary, however, had other things in mind. “I’ve been here for three and a half months, and I watched that game. So maybe you can say that (revenge) is a motivation for me. Plus it’s against the team that released me and, I’m feeling great because I just fetched my wife who I’ve seen for the first time since coming here,” said McClary.
McClary, who played for Talk ‘N’ Text in the 1997-1998 season but moved to Coke as the Phone Pals opted for Damien Cantrell, had 25 points in the first half when he almost single-handedly kept Coca-Cola in the thick of the fight.
In the third quarter, he was joined by Poch Juinio and Jeffrey Cariaso in outscoring the Phone Pals, 23-14, for a 62-48 advantage going into the final 12 minutes.
Rene Hawkins, a late entry into the Tigers lineup, hit a jumper that pushed the Phone Pals down to the game’s biggest difference, 42-62. Kwan Johnson had 29 points, 12 rebounds and four steals to lead five Beermen in twin digits as San Miguel dumped a tired Sta. Lucia squad, 109-88, in the second game.“Our only advantage was Sta. Lucia extended themselves during that Alaska win and they were really tired,” said San Miguel coach Jong Uichico.
Fatigue and frustration ate up the Realtors and were both evident in Marlou Aquino, who committed two flagrant fouls in a span lasting a little over three minutes. He was tossed out of the game at the 6:40 mark for dropping an elbow on the face of a driving Nic Belasco.
