Cariaso, Taulava share weekly PBA honors

Alaska Aces' Jeffrey Cariaso and new Coca-Cola Tiger Asi Taulava were selected as the PBA Press Corps' Smart-Accel Co-Players of the Week for the period Nov. 26-Dec. 2. The association said that the leadership which both cagers showed was the biggest factor in their selection for the weekly plum. The same was echoed by Alaska coach Tim Cone. "We don't measure Jeff by his offense. He's the leader of our defense and the overall leader of our team," said Cone of his 6-foot-2 guard who was a big factor in the Aces' 117-106 and 87-82 wins over Coca-Cola and Barangay Ginebra, respectively, in the week that was. Against the Tigers last Wednesday, the 35-year-old Cariaso scored a team-high 26 points and followed that up with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists against the Kings as the Aces notched their third straight win and improved to a 7-4 win-loss in all. "When he has good shooting nights, like he has lately, that's just a bonus for us. He's our warrior," Cone added. The same could be said of Taulava, who was acquired by Coke from Talk 'N Text for Ali Peek and a first round pick next year in a trade forged only late last Monday. In that loss to Alaska, Taulava came up just a point short of his age, netting 33 points on top of 17 rebounds. The 6'9, 275-lb center then had 26 points, a conference-high 24 rebounds and 5 assists in a 94-79 win over first round tormentor Sta. Lucia Realty last Saturday that enabled the Tigers to snap out of a franchise-worst eight-game losing skid. - GMANews.TV