Tigers survive without a Penny

MANILA, Philippines - The Coca-Cola Tigers literally saw red as import James Penny left the game ahead of everybody else, bloodied with an inch-long cut on his right eyebrow.

But the Tigers rallied behind their wounded import as they stopped B-MEG Derby Ace’s hot start, pulling off a 79-76 decision to regain a share of the lead in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Gary David and Asi Taulava took charge after Penny’s ouster and the Tigers beat the Llamados in a furious battle, tying the San Miguel Beermen in the lead at 4-1 (win-loss) card.

“That was a character-defining game for us,” said Coca-Cola coach Bo Perasol, lauding his local players for rising above adversity following Penny’s exit caused by the cut he sustained on a wayward elbow by Lorenzo Wade.

The Tigers were down by one at 63-64 when Penny left the game with over five minutes left to play. The long-limbed Coke import had put in 20 points, 18 rebounds, six blocks and two steals before the incident.

“We made the right adjustments with James no longer on the floor and it paid off,” said Taulava, who scored five crucial points at the finish.

“The incident obviously ignited their spirit. They saw red and that’s the turning point,” said Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio.

“I thought we did a good job defensively, holding them to 79 points which is 20 below their norm. But we were hounded by turnovers. It was simply so many punctuated by the error committed by Wade in a play where we could have forced overtime,” Gregorio also said.

Forcing Dennis Espino to a turnover, the Llamados got a chance to send the game into overtime with 14.1 seconds left to play.

But Wade slipped when he’s about to attack the basket.

Forcing a jump ball against Wade, Espino completed a heroic act by winning the toss, and the Tigers went on to deal the Llamados their first loss in their last 10 games dating back to the all-Filipino tourney.

“Purefoods was really tight on defense but we held our own defensively,” said Perasol.

After Wade sent Penny out of the game, the Tigers immediately made a decisive run, taking a six-point spread at 76-70 entering the final minute of the game.

The Llamados got back into the thick of things, 76-78, on a counterattack punctuated by a three-pointer by KG Canaleta coming off the bench.

But the Tigers won’t be denied.

David led the Coca-Cola locals with 18 points, including 12 in the payoff period.

Mark Macapagal added 15 points, three rebounds and three assists while Taulava chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds.

Alaska Milk, runner-up in the recent Philippine Cup, finally barged into the Fiesta Conference win-column as the Aces topped the Air21 Express and their new import Jason Forte, 105-95, in the nightcap.

Wade finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds with James Yap the only other Derby Ace ending up with a double-digit production with 11 on a poor 4-of-14 field-goal shooting.

“One of those nights when James is off. But nothing to worry about. He’s entitled to that,” said Gregorio.

The scores:

First Game

Coke 79 – Penny 20, David 18, Macapagal 15, Taulava 11, Lanete 5, Ross 4, Gonzales 4, Rizada 2, Allera 0, Cruz 0, Espino 0.

Derby Ace 76 – Wade 26, Yap 11, Canaleta 9, Yap 7, Simon 6, Reavis 5, Maierhofer 4, Artadi 4, Allado 4, Pingris 0.

Quarterscores: 20-17, 34-33, 50-57, 79-76

Second Game

Alaska 105 – Simpson 29, Thoss 16, Dela Cruz 15, Miller 15, Tenorio 10, Cablay 9, De Vance 6, Fonacier 5, Eman 0, Hugnatan 0.

Air21 95 – Forte 20, Buenafe 19, Cortez 11, Belga 10, Billones 10, Matias 9, Ritualo 7, Gonzales 5, Rodriguez 2, Alvarez 2, Williams 0, Kramer 0, Sharma 0.

Quarterscores: 18-23, 49-41, 73-70, 105-95