PBA sudden death: Llamados try to dodge Tigers' upset axe

B-MEG and Powerade clash in a do-or-die battle for the right to advance in the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. The Tigers, the lowest-ranked team at eighth entering the playoffs, made the 6 p.m. encounter possible after a 97-88 beating of the top-seeded Llamados last Wednesday. B-MEG, after ending the elimination round on top of the standings, enjoyed a twice-to-beat edge against Powerade. But the Tigers' frenetic three-point sniping obliterated that advantage by the Llamados. Powerade made 12 three-pointers in the entire match with top gunner Gary David draining four while rookies Marcio Lassiter and Jvee Cassio had three each. No wonder Powerade coach Bo Perasol likes his team’s chances of entering the semis after long years of absence. "Our first win was one of the measures of how far we have gone as a team," said Perasol, who finally earned his first playoff victory since handling the team last year. "Our ability to close out the series against the No. 1 team would be a testament to our character, no matter how young we may be. We believe that we have what it takes to win this game." The quarterfinal stint—and the win—was the first for the Tigers since the 2007-08 Fiesta Conference. And they certainly want to make the most out of it. "Let's get this upset (Sunday) Powerade Tigers," was big man Doug Kramer's shout out on his Twitter account. "Let's slay the giant and prove everybody wrong. It's gonna be big." The Tigers' upset win earned them the respect of the Llamados, especially coach Tim Cone. "Obviously our respect for Powerade has really grown with the way they handled us in the last game," said Cone, whose team was on an eight-game winning run until running smack into the Tigers in the playoffs. Still, the B-MEG mentor is confident the experience of his team will be enough to overcome Powerade's bid of pulling off one of the greatest upsets in PBA history. "But we've got a confident crew and a number of veterans that have been through these types of situations before. We expect they’ll respond accordingly," said Cone. San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra were the only eighth-ranked teams to have beaten top seeded squads since the league institutionalized the playoffs in 1999. The Beermen did it at Talk 'N Text's expense in the 2002 Governors Cup quarterfinals, while the Kings pulled it off opposite Mobiline in the 1999 All-Filipino quarterfinals best remembered for Bal David's game-winning shot against the defense of the 6-foot-9 Asi Taulava. — JVP, GMA News