Coca-Cola coach Perasol nails 1st win at old team's expense

source: gmanews.tv

Bo Perasol is winless no more this season. Going 0-4 since taking over as head coach of the Coca-Cola Tigers, Perasol helped his team snap an eight-game losing binge with a 106-94 victory over former team Burger King Sunday in the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Tigers won for the first time since their Oct. 30 triumph over Purefoods and picked up only their second win in 13 matches.

There were no special plays made in ending the Tigers’ long misery. No additional won-game bonuses to keep them fired up, either. All Perasol did was convince his players that they needed a win to get themselves back on track.

“We never really talked about the X's and O's of the game," said Perasol, who visited the press room as winning coach for the first time in a long while.

“I believe more than anything else, it’s the burden inside the minds of my players that are keeping them down so they need motivation. What we need to do is to get one more win, a very modest goal which is I think is achievable."

The victory over an unpredictable Whopper side gave the Tigers enough reason to prowl and think of their next victim.

Six players led by Larry Rodriguez finished in double figures for the Tigers. The former Philippine Maritime Institute stalwart led his team with 21 points aside from anchoring his squad’s interior defense.

Alex Cabagnot (16), Mark Macapagal (16), RJ Rizada (14), Asi Taulava (12) and Ricky Calimag were the other double-digit producers for Coca-Cola.

The loss was the ninth in 13 games for the Whopper, who are in danger of facing a losing season for the first time in four years.

The Tigers, who led by 19 points, 77-58, found themselves leading by only eight as Chico Lanete capped an 11-0 run with back-to-back baskets.

But Taulava and Rizada conspired in an early fourth period assault that triggered the Tigers’ 11-2 run for a 93-75 Coca-Cola advantage.

The Tigers were never seriously threatened from there.

The Scores:

COKE 106 - Rodriguez 21, Cabagnot 18, Macapagal 16, Rizada 14, Taulava 12, Calimag 10, Espino 6, Allera 5, Cruz 2, Gonzales 2.

BURGER KING 94 - David 23, Lanete 18, Buenafe 15, Belga 10, Sharma 10, Yee M. 8, Billones 5, Matias 3, Yee R. 2, Quinahan 0.

QUARTERS: 30-16, 51-40, 82-73, 106-94