Chris Pacana

Credits: SunStar Cebu

THE Coca Cola Tigers outlasted the Welcoat Dragons, 92-86, in yesterday’s Talk N’ Text 2006 PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Tigers, who played without Ali Peek, Will Antonio and Neil Raneses, clawed their way back into the game after falling behind by 11 points with a roaring endgame rally.

Allan Salangsang and Chris Pacana starred in the Tigers’ come-from-behind victory as their heroics in the last two minutes of the final quarter allowed Coca Cola to steal the glory from the Dragons.

Salangsang dished out a double-double performance as he tallied a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Pacana etched a career-high of 18 points in helping the Tigers secure the victory.

Rob Wainwright stretched the Dragons’ edge to five points, 80-75, after completing a three-point play but Pacana replied with a booming trey in the next play and teammate Joseph Yeo made a lay-up off a Dragons miss to level the count to 80-all in the last 2:12.

That turned out to be the turning point of the game as the Tigers made another five-to-nothing spurt courtesy of Pacana’s three-point bomb and Denok Miranda’s twinner in the last 1:15.

The Dragons refused to give up as Jojo Tangkay replied with a three-point conversion in the ensuing play, keeping his team in the thick of things as time dwindled down to 1:12 with Welcoat just behind by two, 83-85.

Endgame

Salangsang, who was five-of-eight in the three-point area, however, took charge in the endgame as he pulled another trey with only 54 ticks left seconds left to seal the win.

“With only nine men to shuffle, I just told the boys to cling together and work together. If we could do that, something good might happen,” said Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis, who worked the game without veteran center Ali Peek (injured knee) and shooters Antonio (groin injury) and Raneses (family problem).

“Sometimes when you work hard, you get lucky,” Favis added.

Their only third win in seven games was a breather for the Tigers who went into the game still reeling from a 75-102 blowout against Barangay Ginebra last Thursday and a 71-81 defeat against the Dragons last Oct.8.

Thanks to Salangsang, who made the big shots when they needed it, Coke was able to avenge that upset loss against Welcoat in their first meeting.

It was another frustrating game for Welcoat, which controlled the game throughout only to blow it in the closing minutes. The Dragons fell to a 2-5 (win-loss) card with their third straight loss.

Last Friday, The Dragons also went down in defeat against the Red Bull Barakos, 77-80, after leading by as many as 17 points.

Jojo Tangkay scored 25 points to show the way for the Dragons. (JAF with PBA Media Bureau)

By JOEL ORELLANA
The Manila Times Reporter

Chris Pacana is beginning to prove that he’s a bigtime player who belongs to the big-time league.

The 6-foot-1 Pacana came to the rescue for Coca-Cola in the pivotal fourth quarter and teamed up with Dennis Miranda and Allan Salangsang to lead their team to a come-from-behind 92-86 win over Welcoat Sunday night in the Talk ’N Text-Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

The 24-year-old product of St. Francis of Assisi had 14 of his career-high 18 points in the fourth period including the last four that sealed the win for the Tigers and snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 3-4.

Salangsang also netted a personal-best 21 markers including 5 booming triples that helped Coke to stay in the game as the Dragons, who absorbed their third straight loss, tried to pull away but to no avail.

"Playing with our three pieces missing, I told the players that it will be tough. It’ll call of holding their arms together, sticking with it and pitching in whatever they could. Sometimes when you play hard, you’ll be lucky," said Coke head coach Binky Favis.

"Chris showed up big tonight. But everybody played their roles to the hilt tonight including Manny [Ramos] and Mike [Gavino]. Denok [Miranda] was our leader defensively and Allan had a great shooting game," Favis added.

The Tigers, who now avenged their 75-85 loss in their first meeting, played minus Ali Peek (injured left knee), William Antonio (groin) and Neil Raneses (family concerns).

But the back-ups, particularly Pacana and Salangsang, were more than willing to carry the fight of the team which appeared on losing another match to the Dragons who led by as much as 11 points in the game at 57-46.

Coke quickly returned into the game by unloading a 14-4 run capped by Salangsang’s triple to close in at 58-61 and the former Barangay Ginebra shooter added a pair of treys at the start of the fourth to move even closer at 64-66.

Welcoat remained in control of the game with Jojo Tangkay, who registered a career-high 25 points, and Rob Wainwright doing most of the damage as the Dragons held an 80-75 lead with just 3:11 left in the game.

Then Pacana took charge the rest of the way, starting the uprising with a three-point play off Nino Gelig that sparked a 10-0 blast capped by Miranda’s banked shot for an 85-80 cushion, 1:15 remaining.

Tangkay buried a triple to put Welcoat back in the game, 83-85, but Salangsang answered with his own rainbow shot. After Tangkay sank three free throws on the foul of Miranda, Pacana hit a difficult lay-up over 6-foo-t8 Jay-R Reyes and sealed the win with two free throws.

It was indeed a painful loss for the Dragons who were in the same situation as in their previous game against Red Bull where they led by as much as 17 points in the third but bungled it and yielded an 80-77 decision.

Scores:

Coke 92—Salangsang 21, Pacana 18, Arigo 15, Ferreria 9, Miranda 8, Ramos 6, Misolas 6, Yeo 5, Gavino 4.

Welcoat 86—Tangkay 25, Wainwright 17, Cabatu 16, Ibanes 10, Lopez 7, Gelig 6, Reyes 4, Sta. Maria 1, Baguion 0, Lao 0, Mente 0.

Quarters: 13-19, 38-41, 58-61, 92-86.

Source: John Arigo: d' Arsenal's Official FanSite

The Coca-Cola Tigers had their breakout game in the 2006-07 PBA campaign Friday, roaring back from a sorry upset the last time out with an upset of their own.

Little changes in their roster seemed to make a big difference for the Tigers who nailed their first win in the Talk n Text PBA Philippine Cup with a king-sized 105-86 reversal of the favored Red Bull side at the Cuneta Astrodome. Chris Pacana and Mike Gavino both made an impact in their debut in the pros, helping the Tigers redeem themselves from a 75-85 loss to the Welcoat Dragons Sunday.

The Tigers bowed to the Alaska Aces in their maiden game in the season last October 4.

Coca-Cola handled Red Bull so well that the Tigers led by as many as 20 points before eventually handing the Barakos their first loss in three starts.

"Mike Gavino helped us on the boards and Chris Pacana helped set control. But the real key was that everybody was willing to fight. Everybody was willing to give five minutes, six minutes or whatever minutes of hard work," said Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis.

"We also got lucky our shots fell. Part of the luck was that Red Bull was a bit off," Favis added.

Doing well with his current lineup is no guarantee though that Favis will play the rest of the tourney with the same group.

"We’re in the process of rotating our guys. We want to see how well everybody plays in certain situations. It’s part of our measurement how long they could stay," Favis explained.

Pacana and Gavino, who took over from fellow rookies Ronjay Enrile and RJ Rizada, acquitted themselves well with the Tigers in their first official game in the pros. Pacana contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes while Gavino chipped in six points and the same number of rebounds in 20 minutes.

John Arigo scattered 27 points while Ali Peek had a double-double game with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Tigers, who drew career-high 12 points each from top rookie Joseph Yeo and sophomore Neil Raneses.

The Barakos were obviously frustrated with their performance with Junthy Valenzuela being banished from the game on a couple of flagrant fouls. Enrico Villanueva had his own flagrant infraction curiously committed against old rival Joseph Yeo.

Valenzuela will automatically serve a one-game suspension as a result of his ejection.

Drawing significant numbers from Pacana right at the start, Coca-Cola took command early and sat on a nine-point cushion, 54-45, at halftime.

The Tigers had earlier nine-point spreads but lost these as they ran into a maze of errors while being pressed by the Barakos midway through the second quarter.

The Barakos had to lean on defense to stay in the thick of the battle as they faltered on the other end of the court in the first 24 minutes of play.

Shock trooper Carlo Sharma paced Red Bull with eight points in the opening half where the whole team shot only 38.5 percent from the field. The Tigers, on the other hand, hit at a 42.5-percent clip.

The Tigers also did better in the battle off the boards, 33-27. (NC)

Source: pba.ph