(From PBA)
It took a long time coming, but Coca-Cola and Rashad Bell finally rang one up Sunday evening.
The Tigers needed to scramble back from several 11-point deficits before fully getting their acts together in the last minute of overtime before hurdling Barako Energy Coffee, 105-100 in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
Bell was at the forefront of it all, redeeming himself from what could have been a costly miscue in the dying seconds of regulation by scoring six of his game-high 33 points and pulling off a crucial block in the extension that gave Coke the needed boost to snap out of its rut.
“We needed this kind of a win because we fought back from a deficit,” said Coke coach Bo Perasol, whose team has lost seven in a row since winning last on April 14.
“Also, we accomplished a lot in our mindset with this win,” added Perasol. “It was a tough seven-game skid and I myself have been losing confidence in coaching this team. We needed this kind of a win to show we still know how to win.”
For Bell, who replaced James Penny three games into the slide, the win should help them in their quest to go deep in the season-ending tourney.
“I’m just really ecstatic we won this. I’m happy for the guys we were able to get this and we hope to build on this momentum in our remaining games,” said the man who went 10-of-12 from the stripe and also had 11 rebounds.
It was the fifth win in 13 games for the Tigers, moving them into solo seventh-running spot.
The loss was Barako’s 11th in 13 outings, dropping it to a tie for last spot with idle Air21.
The Energy Coffee Masters fought back from 31 points down before narrowly losing a 98-99 decision to the Express last Wednesday and coach Junel Baculi states Sunday’s game compares to that heartbreaking loss.
“This is really bad, considering we led all the way up to the last minute (of regulation),” he said. “Unfortunately, the players made bad decisions in the end, like instead of passing, shooting the ball and instead of shooting, they’re passing. Hopefully we would learn from this and in our last few games apply it.”
Sammy Monroe led Barako with 27 points and 11 boards, but he went scoreless in overtime.
In his first game as a starter, Leo Najorda finished with 24 points, with relievers Reed Juntilla and Mark Isip adding 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Gary David, the conference’s leading local scorer, ably backstopped Bell with 25 points, while Asi Taulava added 12 and a game-high 14 rebounds and Mark Macapagal chipping in 10.
David’s triple capped Coke’s comeback from several 11-point deficits and gave the Tigers a 93-91 edge in the last 38 seconds of regulation.
Monroe’s lean-in floater knotted the count 12 seconds later and overtime was forged when Bell dribbled off his thigh in the last 6.8 seconds and Monroe was way right on his long triple try before the final buzzer.
Juntilla’s back-to-back jumpers gave Barako the upper hand in overtime, but that did not last long as Bell’s short stab and followup sandwiched Taulava’s three-point play off a Bell block on Juntilla that made it a 100-97 game.
Najorda’s triple tied the count for the last time at 100, before a David twinner and charities by Macapagal and Bell off a hoary three-point miss by Rob Wainwright and Al Vergara’s offensive foul sealed the count. (NC)
The scores:
Coca-Cola 105 - Bell 33, David 25, Taulava 12, Macapagal 10, Cruz 8, Espino 6, Allera 3, Gonzales 3, Mendoza 3, Rizada 2, Calimag 0.
Barako Coffee 100 - Monroe 27, Najorda 24, Juntilla 14, Isip 11, Vergara 9, Wainwright 8, Reyes 4, Dimaunahan 3, Duncil 0, Hubalde 0.
Quarterscores: 24-27, 37-48, 62-71, 93-93, 105-100
It took a long time coming, but Coca-Cola and Rashad Bell finally rang one up Sunday evening.
The Tigers needed to scramble back from several 11-point deficits before fully getting their acts together in the last minute of overtime before hurdling Barako Energy Coffee, 105-100 in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
Bell was at the forefront of it all, redeeming himself from what could have been a costly miscue in the dying seconds of regulation by scoring six of his game-high 33 points and pulling off a crucial block in the extension that gave Coke the needed boost to snap out of its rut.
“We needed this kind of a win because we fought back from a deficit,” said Coke coach Bo Perasol, whose team has lost seven in a row since winning last on April 14.
“Also, we accomplished a lot in our mindset with this win,” added Perasol. “It was a tough seven-game skid and I myself have been losing confidence in coaching this team. We needed this kind of a win to show we still know how to win.”
For Bell, who replaced James Penny three games into the slide, the win should help them in their quest to go deep in the season-ending tourney.
“I’m just really ecstatic we won this. I’m happy for the guys we were able to get this and we hope to build on this momentum in our remaining games,” said the man who went 10-of-12 from the stripe and also had 11 rebounds.
It was the fifth win in 13 games for the Tigers, moving them into solo seventh-running spot.
The loss was Barako’s 11th in 13 outings, dropping it to a tie for last spot with idle Air21.
The Energy Coffee Masters fought back from 31 points down before narrowly losing a 98-99 decision to the Express last Wednesday and coach Junel Baculi states Sunday’s game compares to that heartbreaking loss.
“This is really bad, considering we led all the way up to the last minute (of regulation),” he said. “Unfortunately, the players made bad decisions in the end, like instead of passing, shooting the ball and instead of shooting, they’re passing. Hopefully we would learn from this and in our last few games apply it.”
Sammy Monroe led Barako with 27 points and 11 boards, but he went scoreless in overtime.
In his first game as a starter, Leo Najorda finished with 24 points, with relievers Reed Juntilla and Mark Isip adding 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Gary David, the conference’s leading local scorer, ably backstopped Bell with 25 points, while Asi Taulava added 12 and a game-high 14 rebounds and Mark Macapagal chipping in 10.
David’s triple capped Coke’s comeback from several 11-point deficits and gave the Tigers a 93-91 edge in the last 38 seconds of regulation.
Monroe’s lean-in floater knotted the count 12 seconds later and overtime was forged when Bell dribbled off his thigh in the last 6.8 seconds and Monroe was way right on his long triple try before the final buzzer.
Juntilla’s back-to-back jumpers gave Barako the upper hand in overtime, but that did not last long as Bell’s short stab and followup sandwiched Taulava’s three-point play off a Bell block on Juntilla that made it a 100-97 game.
Najorda’s triple tied the count for the last time at 100, before a David twinner and charities by Macapagal and Bell off a hoary three-point miss by Rob Wainwright and Al Vergara’s offensive foul sealed the count. (NC)
The scores:
Coca-Cola 105 - Bell 33, David 25, Taulava 12, Macapagal 10, Cruz 8, Espino 6, Allera 3, Gonzales 3, Mendoza 3, Rizada 2, Calimag 0.
Barako Coffee 100 - Monroe 27, Najorda 24, Juntilla 14, Isip 11, Vergara 9, Wainwright 8, Reyes 4, Dimaunahan 3, Duncil 0, Hubalde 0.
Quarterscores: 24-27, 37-48, 62-71, 93-93, 105-100
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