MANILA, 29 May 2006 — Talk about good timing for one and totally bad for the other.
Coca-Cola turned hot on a night it needed to and Air21 was grounded when it was supposed to take off as the Tigers last night booked the last automatic slot to the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals with an 87-73 demolition job of the Express.
The Tigers snapped a two-game losing streak after suddenly flaunting the form that made them favorites early in the tournament.
Air21, meanwhile, absorbed their first loss in four games slumping back into the form that made the Express languish in the bottom half of the draw before the All-Star break.
“What a time for us to pull off a win,” Coke coach Binky Favis said after guiding his team to No. 5 seeding in the quarterfinals, in the company of idle Red Bull and Alaska. “We’ve been struggling and it (win) is more than a respite for us.”
The Express, after winning three straight games without former cornerstone Ren-Ren Ritualo, couldn’t pull out what could have been an important victory, dropping into the wild card phase along with three others.
Sta. Lucia, Talk ‘N Text and defending champion Barangay Ginebra will be joined by the Express in the single-round, carryover phase that starts Wednesday, with the topnotcher to advance to the first round of the playoffs.
“I told the boys to just stay positive (despite being relegated to the wildcard),” Air21 coach Bo Perasol said. “It’s not the end of the world for us. We lost this game, sure, but we still have a chance to make it.
“And that’s why it is important for us to remain focused.”
In qualifying as the fifth-best team, the Tigers, who got 20 points and 11 rebounds from man-mountain Ali Peek, will battle Alaska in the quarterfinals, while the Barako will be awaiting a foe - the winner of the wildcard phase.
The win also gave the Tigers at least a week’s rest before plunging back into action again, quite an important development as the team could use the time to regroup after having won just one game in the second round of the classification.
“We will be making adjustments, that’s for sure,” Favis added. “And what’s good about qualifying fifth is that we know who our opponents will be. We will be getting the time to prepare for them (Aces) for the quarterfinals.”
After a slow start, Coke dropped a 15-0 bomb to start the second period which turned a 17-21 deficit into a nine-point lead which the Tigers protected until the final buzzer.
Gerard Francisco, in a very rare appearance, stepped up off the bench and took over from the injured William Antonio to fire nine points and grab seven rebounds in his worthiest game since transferring to the Coke camp at the start of the year.
The 6-foot-4 former Finals MVP with Sta. Lucia in 2001 saw extended minutes and delivered when he had to, regaining some amount of confidence which can help the team in the long-term.
Rafi Reavis also played a wonderful game for Coke, shooting 12 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. He had two thunderous dunks that highlighted another tear which gave the Tigers their first double-digit lead, 42-31, late in the second period.
The Express actually aided their downfall after missing their first 11 shots in the second quarter and finishing with a shooting clip of only 29% for the game. Nino Canaleta, regarded as the Express’ new franchise player, scored 15 points to pace Air21. Stephen Padilla and Wynne Arboleda had 13 points apiece.
