Ailing Giants streak to 4th win in row

The Purefoods Chunkee Giants ran roughshod over the Coca-Cola Tigers for a fourth straight win in the San Mig Coffee PBA Fiesta Cup last night at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Giants were relentless against the Tigers despite various ailments endured by Marc Pingris, Richard Yee, Jun Limpot, Roger Yap and import Marquin Chandler to score a 103-87 victory for their first four-game streak since the 2002 Commissioner’s Cup which they won over the Alaska Aces.

Chandler and Yap teamed up with fellow starters Kerby Raymundo, Jondan Salvador and James Yap for a fine performance that spoiled the debut of Omar Thomas for the Tigers.

The Giants improved their win-loss record to 5-1 while dealing the Tigers their fourth defeat against a lone win.

It was a remarkable showing for the Giants considering that only seven players were in attendance in their last practice before the game.

"We really feel good coming through in spite of our team far from 100 percent healthy," said Purefoods Chunkee coach Ryan Gregorio. "In fact, naka-Dextrose pa si Chandler two days ago because of a bum stomach."

But Chandler hardly looked ill in the contest, coming away with 27 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block in 41 minutes of action.

Salvador, the team’s prized rookie, had a career-high 21 points that went with nine rebounds and three assists while Raymundo finished a point shy of his career-best 27 points.

Together with the outputs of the two Yaps, the Purefoods Chunkee starting five totaled 98 points compared to the 73 of their Coca-Cola counterparts Thomas, Billy Mamaril, Ali Peek, John Arigo and Dennis Miranda.

Thomas, who took over from Alex Carcamo, had a decent PBA debut, piling up 28 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and the same number of steals.

However, the Giants simply played much better as a team, outclassing the Tigers in the final half.

Purefoods Chunkee took a 79-71 lead at the end of the third quarter and settled the outcome of the game on a 9-2 run making it 94-81 entering the last two minutes of play.