Magnolia shakes off fancied Coke

Magnolia put premium on defense minus top gun Danny Seigle, neutralizing Coca-Cola’s import tandem of Jason Dixon and Brandon Dean as the Beverage Masters toppled the Tigers, 108-96, in the opener of their Smart PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-three quarterfinals showdown at the Astrodome last night.

Offensively, Amal McCaskill, Lordy Tugade and Mike Cortez did much of the damage as the Beverage Masters took the crucial win to move on the threshold of the semifinal round.

“I’m not taking away the effort of the guys, but I think it’s a combination of us putting up good defense and catching Dixon in one of his off nights,” said Magnolia coach Siot Tanquingcen.

“In a short series, it feels good to take the opener although it still means nothing because you still need to complete the job. I expect Coca-Cola to come back strong in the next game,” Tanquingcen added.

The Beverage Masters made a good defensive job on Dixon and Dean, limiting them to combined numbers of merely 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Curiously, Tugade alone outscored and outrebounded the Coca-Cola imports with the former NU stalwart piling up a career-high 15 rebounds plus 20 points.

McCaskill also topped the numbers of Dixon and Dean as the NBA veteran produced 20 points and 11 rebounds that went with three assists, one steal and one block.

Cortez contributed 18 points while Danny Ildefonso and Dondon Hontiveros chipped in 13 points apiece as the Beverage Masters bucked the absence of Seigle who’s nursing a strained calf muscle.