MANILA, 10 April 2006 — The way Binky Favis called the shots for Coca-Cola last night left no doubt that he should be in the Philippine Basketball Association All-Star Game.
Favis shuffled his Tigers with great effect in a 108-104 overtime victory over walking wounded Sta. Lucia in the Philippine Cup last night that sealed his first-ever stint on the bench in the annual mid-season extravaganza later this month.
The Tigers came roaring back from 90-93 deficit with 13.8 seconds left in regulation after John Arigo nailed a three-pointer and set the tables up for Coke’s sixth victory in eight games.
Arigo actually hit two crucial treys in the fourth period and the rest of the team finished the hatchet job in extension to tie San Miguel for the lead and hand Favis the coaching job on a silver platter.
“It’s an honor to coach in the All-Star Game,” Favis said. “I owe it all to my players, who have done wonders in this tournament and are dead-set on improving from our previous two (conferences).”
Coke’s turnaround here has been nothing less than phenomenal.
After finishing dead-last in the last two tournaments, the Tigers have won games in strings. They opened with four straight victories to set the pace and their second straight win last night gave them a piece of the lead they lost more than a week.
“It only shows the resolve that the players have,” Favis said. “We are all determined to gain a place among the league’s elite. Though it’s still too early in the tournament, I think we are threading the right path.”
The coaching casualty in the results of the games in the last two playdates was Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, who was going great guns until that loss to San Miguel on Friday.
Incidentally, the Beermen could wind up as the top-seeded team after the first half of the classification stage if they win opposite Barangay Ginebra in the game going on at presstime.
The Coke victory was not expected to be this close, especially since Marlou Aquino, Dennis Espino and Kenneth Duremdes were all saddled with injuries for the Realtors. All three were in uniform, but only Aquino was made to play — six measly minutes — because of a bad foot.
The Realtors made their small men carry the fight, with Paolo Mendoza ending up with 20 points and new acquisition Jimwell Torion shooting nine for the second straight game. Mendoza hit a triple with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter for an 88-86 Sta. Lucia lead.
But height and heft took over for the Tigers in overtime as Ali Peek, who played his best offensive game in a Coke uniform by finishing with 29 points, and Rafi Reavis took turns in hurting the Realtors.
Meanwhile, Asi Taulava scattered 23 points and Mac Cardona contributed significantly for the second straight game as Talk ‘N Text humbled Red Bull, 99-93, in a road game at the Lamberto Masias gym in Dumaguete Saturday night.
The 6-foot-10 cornerstone threw his weight around, coming through in the clutch like Cardona as the Phone Pals streaked to fifth spot with a 3-4 card.
Talk ‘N Text also avoided going deeper in the standings by dealing the Fiesta Conference champion Bulls a third straight loss. Red Bull is now in sixth spot along with idle Alaska and Air21.
Two of the Phone Pals’ victories in the tournament have actually come on the road, the first being an 88-66 rout of the Purefoods Chunkee Giants in the league’s first official game at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong last month.
