Pinoy Basketball Fan

With the super sophomore back in harness and filling up a gaping void in the Tigers’ offense, they had little trouble repeating over Purefoods 93-72 Friday in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

Buenafe scored a game-high 18 points off the bench and four other Coca-Cola players turned in at least 10 points apiece in a balanced offensive attack that gained full steam as the game wore on.

But it was the Tigers’ efforts on the other side of the court that interim head coach Kenneth Duremdes deemed was the more crucial factor in their snapping out of a three-game slide and improving their win-loss record to 4-7.

“Lahat nag-commit to play defense,” said Duremdes. “Nakitang kaya palang maglaro ng depensa kung gugustuhin.”

Definitely, however, the return of Buenafe — who missed a game when his wife gave birth to their first-born, Francesca Cassandra, and then sat out two more due to a right ankle sprain – was the one who sparked Coke’s offense.

“Na-miss namin si Ronjay. Malaking factor siya at nahirapan kami habang wala sila ni John,” said Duremdes, also referring to John Arigo who was sidelined for two games by a sprained left ankle.

“Iyun ang naging butas namin sa rotation, lalo pa’t kailangang-kailangan sila sa breakdowns. Iyung nag-i-initiate ng plays. So malaking bagay ang pagbalik nila.”

Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio was left hoping his own team would be spared of further injuries and illnesses after it dropped to 5-6.

The Giants were already missing PJ Simon and Roger Yap to knee injuries and had Kerby Raymundo not fully recovered yet from a bout with amoebiasis. Their woes were compounded by a viral infection on Aaron Aban and also afflicted James Yap and Paolo Bugia and assistant coaches Koy Banal and Ronnie Magsanoc.

Yap, Rico Villanueva and Raymundo each still wound up with 15 points each while Rich Alvarez had 10 points and nine rebounds.

But they all faded when Coke started a steady pullaway in the fourth quarter and in the end Purefoods suffered its worst loss of the young season.

The Tigers were coming off a 101-111 loss to Air21 in a game in where Coke gave up 37 points in one quarter. Friday, they held the Giants to just nine in the second period and worked their way up from there.

The pinnacle of Coke’s game was in the second half, where it held Purefoods to just 39 points, including 17 in the crucial fourth period where the Giants went a dismal 5-of-19 from the field.

In all, Purefoods only had 10 points off five fastbreak attempts, quite a letdown for a team that prides itself on speed to complement the sets for Yap, Raymundo and Villanueva. The Giants shot a more woeful 4-of-16 for just nine points in the second period and wound up with only a 27-of75 clip from the floor.

Bereft of such worries was Buenafe, who was at his fieriest in the crucial fourth period where he scattered 14 of his points, including eight straight capped by back-to-back triples that stretched their lead to 86-64, 5:04 remaining.

Despite its woes, Purefoods seemed poised to strike back at the same team that dealt the Giants a 102-103 double overtime loss the first time they met by racing to an early 12-2 lead and trailing by just 55-61 after three quarters.

Then things started falling apart for the Giants when Buenafe started waxing hot, aided most by Alex Cabagnot, Nic Belasco and Mark Macapagal. (NCo)

The scores:

Coca-Cola 93 – Buenafe 18, Belasco 14, Cabagnot 11, Telan 11, Taulava 10, Macapagal 6, Catli 6, Misolas 6, Enrile 5, Arigo 4, Dimaunahan 2, Rizada 0.

Purefoods 72 – Yap J. 15, Raymundo 15, Villanueva 15, Alvarez 10, Lanete 8, Aban 4, Belga 3, Robinson 2, Fernandez 0, Bugia 0, Salavador 0.

Quarterscores: 18-24; 39-33; 61-55; 93-72.

http://www.pba.ph/content/view/2378/1/

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