Thursday, November 29, 2007 Taulava loses debut with Coca Cola
MANILA—The Alaska Aces spoiled Asi Taulava’s debut with the Coca-Cola Tigers as they carved a 117-106 win yesterday in the 2007 Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Aces lost their rhythm for several minutes in the pivotal period, but Jeffrey Cariaso, Mike Cortez and Willie Miller kept their poise and composure to preserve their commanding lead and secure their sixth triumph in 10 matches.
“We lost our rhythm for several minutes and that gave them (Coca-Cola) a little breath of life. That’s why they were able to come back. When you are playing against an excited Asi Taulava, then you have to play a very consistent game,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.
The multi-titled coach Cone was clearly referring to their big 105-77 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, which the Tigers slowly reduced to a mere single digit, 104-112, in the last 44.5 seconds, thanks to Taulava’s 10 points in the fourth period.
Complexion
“The trade involving Taulava and Peek seemed to have changed the complexion of Coca-Cola. It seemed Asi got excited and it’s hard to play an excited Asi. That’s what I was worried before the game,” said Cone.
Taulava, the league’s MVP in 2003, debuted with the Tigers after being traded in exchange for the 6-foot-4 Ali Peek. The 6-foot-9 Fil-Tongan center finished with a career-high 33 points on top of 17 rebounds.
“I’m happy here and I think I’m enjoying playing with them (Tigers),” said Taulava.
With their eighth loss against a lone win, the Tigers surpassed their previous franchise’s all-time longest losing streak of seven from Nov. 3 to Dec. 1 during the elimination round of last year’s Philippine Cup.
Finalists
Cariaso topscored for Alaska with 26 points and had three assists, while last year’s MVP, Miller, had 25 and Cortez scored 20.
Aside from Taulava, Mark Telan added 24 points and 10 rebounds, while rookie Ronjay Buenafe finished with 18 and veteran Kenneth Duremdes scored 11.
Both the Aces and the Tigers, finalists in the 2002 All-Filipino conference won by Coca-Cola (4-3), fought closely in the first eight minutes of the game that resulted in six deadlocks and two lead changes before Miller scored on a drive that triggered a fiery 15-2 run to move Alaska on top, 32-19.
Coca-Cola’s Ronjay Enrile and Alaska’s Cortez exchanged baskets at the three-point arc early in the second period, but the Aces, who won five of their last seven matches after a slow 0-2 start, silenced the guns of Coca-Cola for about four minutes to establish their first biggest lead in the match, 46-24, still 8:24 left in the first half.
Taulava, who seemed to have easily felt comfortable with his new home, scored six points and Telan added four to cut down the deficit to only 10, 42-52, still 3:24 remaining in the half.
Taulava scored a high 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the first half alone even as the Aces took a 17-point advantage, 65-48, at the start of the third quarter. (FCC)
