MANILA, 23 November 2004 — Shell’s unrelenting intensity is proving to be too much for their rivals.
Vexing on defense and fluid in offense, the Turbo Chargers thumped Coca-Cola, 82-77, on Sunday for their second straight win in the Gran Matador-PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Top draft pick Rich Alvarez pulled down the last of his 15 rebounds with 58 seconds left and converted on a putback, giving Shell enough cushion to parry a determined but late uprising by the Tigers who came to within three points after trailing by as much as 17.
It was the seventh victory against four setbacks for the Turbo Chargers, enough for them to stay in solid third spot behind Talk N’Text and Ginebra.
“I’m happy with the way the players responded. Obviously, they learned their lessons well,” said Shell coach Leo Austria, adding that his wards are beginning to play with urgency and peaking at the right time.
Shell shot just 34 percent from the field but made nine of 25 attempts from beyond the arc, seven more than the Tigers, who made just 32 percent of their field goal attempts.
Alvarez went on to secure player of the game honors with 11 points and three assists-his all-around game coming to the fore for the Turbo Chargers, who snapped a three-game losing slump with a 101-99 win over FedEx last week.
The prized rookie also was responsible for giving Shell the biggest lead of the game, a 73-56 advantage with still 6:01 left.
Just when it seemed everything was safe came the most telling of the Tigers’ runs.
Gary David and John Arigo worked hand-in-hand as the Tigers tried to stage a miracle comeback eerily like in their first meeting that had them razing an early 10-point deficit before cruising to the finish.
It almost came into reality.
From that 17-point deficit, Coca-Cola came tantalizingly within 75-80 on a rare four-point play by David off a Ronald Tubid foul, before Rafi Reavis converted two free throws with nine seconds left to make it closer, 77-80.
But Tony dela Cruz, the often-ignored offensive threat who, topscored with 19 points, was fouled and drained a pair of charities for the final count.
Arigo led the Tigers with 21 points, continually getting his offense going since being traded to Coca-Cola from Alaska. Ali Peek scored 19 points while David had 10.
Tubid had 13 and Legaspi 10 for Shell, which got off to its usual jackrabbit start, using a torrid second quarter to go into the halftime break with a 48-39 lead.
The two players combined for 14 points as Shell outscored Coca-Cola, 28-20, to break free from a tight 20-19 first period score.
In the second game, the Aces clawed back from 23 points down and beat the Barangay Ginebra Kings in overtime, 98-95.
After shooting miserably (24 percent) in the first half and trailing 28-51 at halftime, the Aces warmed up in the second half and started hitting the target from almost all angles, thanks to a 62 percent clip from the field.
Brandon Cablay sent the game into overtime with a booming three over Rodney Santos with 7.6 seconds left in regulation and then the Aces turned the complexion of the game around, jumping to a 6-1 start in extra time.
Reynel Hugnatan scored 23 points, Jeffrey Cariaso had 19 (17 in the second half) and Cablay added 16 for the Aces, who improved to 5-7.
It was a disappointing loss for the Kings, who had the game practically under control for most part and appeared headed for a lopsided win.
But they couldn’t stand the pressure when the Aces turned on the heat.
Rommel Adducul turned in 20 points and Mark Caguioa had 18 for the Kings, who dropped their fourth game in 11 starts.
