Tigers try to wrest solo lead

With the kind of lineup that he has at his disposal, Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis said they have to be consistent in their game if they’re to figure prominently in the Talk n Text PBA Fiesta Cup.

Favis said their 2-0 start in the season-ending tourney doesn’t mean a thing yet.

He challenges his troops to work hard as they take a shot at the solo lead in the tourney in tackling the Talk n Text Phone Pals today at the Araneta Coliseum.

"This team has always been 2-0 in a tournament with me. My challenge to them is how consistent they will play from here on and how they will improve after a 2-0 start," said Favis.

"If we want to improve further down this conference and the conferences to come, we have to play consistently. I’ve been emphasizing to my players that our team can be good if we can be consistent," Favis added.

The Tigers made it two in a row in the tourney by dwarfing the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants, 98-81, Friday at the Astrodome. They nipped the Welcoat Dragons, 81-79, on opening day.

Air21, meanwhile, guns for a second straight win as the Express slugs it out with the San Miguel Beermen in the day’s other game at 4:30 p.m.

The Express fought back from a big deficit as they whipped the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 101-94, last Wednesday.

The Pals and the Beermen lost their opening game in the tourney with the former bowing to the Alaska Milk Aces, 94-98, and the latter walloped by Red Bull, 84-102, Friday.

Vidal Massiah’s debut showed he’s not the messiah the Beermen was looking for as the Massiah, a former member of the Canadian national team, was just a last-minute import recruit of San Miguel after original choice Kelly Whitney was measured to be over the 6-6 height limit. He was a walk-in applicant and could get his walking papers soon.

The Barakos capitalized on their advantage on the Penny-Massiah match-up as they established control early and dominated the game up to the finish despite Enrico Villanueva sitting it out due to a sprained ankle.

Penny scored 23 points and hauled down 13 rebounds while playing it cool and easy in 30 minutes. Massiah also finished with a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds but he was good for only two points and five rebounds in the first half compared to 12 points and 13 rebounds by Penny.