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Coca-Cola has been taking care of business the way it
should. And as most observers had anticipated, the
Tigers are shaping up as a certified title contender.
Hard
work and perseverance has become the cornerstone of the
Tigers’ campaign in the Smart-Philippine Basketball
Association Fiesta Cup, and their concerted effort has
been appropriately rewarded with the No.1 spot in the
standings in the most crucial stretch of the tournament.
Coach
Binky Favis said he is pleased with the way his troops
are handling the situation, but emphasized it’s still a
long way to go and the Tigers still have a lost of work
ahead of them.
“It’s
nice to be ahead but we still have to continue climbing
and continue improving,” Favis offered.
Favis is
well aware that their position remains unstable at the
time being, not to mention the seven teams behind them
are all in contention for the five outright playoff
spots (two semifinal berths and three quarterfinal
seats).
“Every
game counts,” he said.
The
Tigers (8-4) went 2-2 in their last four games, making
up for their dismal stints against Alaska and Air21 with
dominating performances in their last two assignments
against Sta. Lucia and Welcoat to soar on top of the
leaderboard.
Coke is
just one game ahead of Red Bull (7-4) but could tighten
its grip on the No.1 spot with a third-straight win in
its scheduled rematch against Purefoods tonight.
“Hopefully, we could ride the momentum of back-to-back
wins and stay ahead of the pack. If we continue working
together, we stand a good chance,” Favis said.
The
Tigers defeated the Giants, 109-108, in their first
meeting this conference courtesy of a last-second basket
by import Jason Dixon. For additional good news, the
Giants (5-6) are coming off a disappointing 60-88 rout
at the hands of the Alaska Aces on Friday.
Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio admits the Tigers are a
matchup nightmare for his troops with the presence of
Asi Taulava and Dixon, but still considers their
scheduled
7:20 p.m. encounter at the Araneta Coliseum “a good test for us.”
“Dixon
and Asi are solid post threats. Defense is the key, but
the challenge for us is to score more. Scoring 60
[against
Alaska] in a 48-minute game is totally embarrassing. We must step
up and play like there is no tomorrow to increase our
survival chances,” Gregorio said.
Magnolia
has also been struggling lately but the Beverage Masters
will be highly motivated for their
4:50 p.m. rematch with the Welcoat Dragons.
The
Beverage Masters (6-6) have lost three of their last
five games, but a win over the slumping Dragons will
enable them to tie Talk ’N Text (7-6) at third place.
“Welcoat
is a tough team. They don’t lose by that much in their
games. So we have to come into the game making sure we
play the game the right way,” said Magnolia coach Siot
Tanquigcen.
Welcoat
(3-9) dealt Magnolia a stunning 108-101 defeat in their
first meeting on April 30, but the Dragons have lost
their next four games after that.
“We
played good the last two games [against Coke and Sta.
Lucia]. We just didn’t get the breaks of the game,
missing free throws and turning the ball over. The
locals of Magnolia stepped up in their last game. So
defense will be the key,” said Welcoat coach Caloy
Garcia. |
