Wednesday, December 05, 2007 Barakos face inspired Coke
MANILA - The second-ranked Red Bull faces the newly-rejuvenated Coca-Cola Tigers, while the Alaska Aces meet Sta. Lucia Realty today in the 2007 Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
No less than Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao admitted the transformation of the Tigers into a contending team after the acquisition of the 6-foot-9 Asi Taulava from Talk ‘N Text late last month.
Guiao said their problem is how to contend with the bulky Taulava, who fired 33 points and 17 rebounds against Alaska on Nov. 28 and later scored 26 points but pulled down 24 rebounds and dished-off 5 assists in the Tigers’ 94-79 win against the Realtors on Dec. 1.
“Asi (Taulava) made big numbers for the Tigers lately. It made Coca-Cola an entirely different team today,” said Guiao, whose Barakos collide against the Tigers in the opening match at 4:50 p.m.
The Realtors, bearing a 4-6 win-loss card following that setback to the Tigers, hope to bounce back when they battle against the third-ranked Alaska Aces at 7:20 p.m.
From a whipping team in the first round of the conference that had them on a worst eight-game losing streak, the Tigers finally came up with a big win to secure their second triumph and moved just a win behind Welcoat’s 3-8 slate.
Guiao said that to offset the advantage of Taulava, his wards should control the tempo of the match and shoot consistently all-throughout in their first meeting.
Both teams will meet for the second round on Jan. 9
This will be also Alaska and Sta. Lucia’s first meeting in the all-Filipino conference. Their second will be on Dec. 19. (FCC)
