Tigers rip Beermen, remain in the hunt for wildcard berth

Up against the league’s top team in San Miguel and playing minus its two key additions, the only way Coca-Cola could win is to get superb numbers from their remaining players.

Asi Taulava, Norman Gonzales and RJ Rizada combined for 69 points which were enough to carry the Tigers to a surprising 118-107 triumph over the mighty Beermen Wednesday night in the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. Taulava finished with a conference-high 27 points while Gonzales added a tournament-high 22 and Rizada had a career-high 20 markers for the Tigers, which marked the first time in a tournament where three teammates scored with at least 20 each. But more than the big numbers they put up on the scoreboard, Coca-Cola’s power trio gave their team their fourth win in the tournament with still two games left on their schedule. The Tigers have now forged a tie with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in eighth to ninth places with similar 4-12 cards. “We're lucky we caught San Miguel in a game that wasn't important to them," said Coca-Cola coach Bo Perasol. “On the other hand, this game is very important to us. We have to feel better with ourselves because we still have two more games left. All we have to do is to make sure we won’t get eliminated." Surprisingly, the Tigers were able to dictate the tempo of the game most of the way. They even led by as much as 11 points twice, the last at 91-80. Rizada had three triples in a three-minute span, including one from the left flank that gave Coca-Cola a 104-95 lead, 3:09 left in the game. But a furious 8-2 exchange capped by Lordy Tugade and Jonas Villanueva’s back-to-back treys shoved the Beermen to within three, 103-106, with still 2:02 remaining. But Taulava buried a jumper that touched off a closing 7-2 spurt and the Tigers were never seriously threatened from there. “Our mindset to this game is we have to win or lose fighting for it. This is a very important win as it put us a game away from Barako Bull. Parang bala namin itong panalo na ito (This win is our insurance) against rain or Shine," said Perasol. “It’s a good thing Alex Compton is now with us. He knows Rain or Shine, but it will still depend on our execution." – GMANews.TV