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Coca-Cola reacted to three straight losses like a wounded tiger. The Tigers rallied in the fourth period to upset the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants, 93-79, yesterday in the 35th PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Coke salvaged its first win in the tournament with resolute defense and torrid shooting in the payoff period that allowed them to overhaul double digit deficits.
The Giants were huffing and puffing in the third when they erected several double digit leads.
But the celebration may have come early as the Giants let their guards down, enabling the Tigers to sneak from behind.
After trimming their deficit to just six after three quarters of play, 61-67, the Tigers rained triples in the fourth with Wesley Gonzales hitting two and Norman Gonzales, Alex Cabagnot and Dale Singson converting one each as Coke never looked back after grabbing the driver's seat, 74-73.
Purefoods was a complete mess in the fourth, scoring just 12 points in the critical period while surrendering 32 points to their opponents.
The Giants suffered their second loss in fourth games.
Norman Gonzales paved the way for the Tigers with 17 points on a three-for-five shooting from the field.
Without the injured Asi Taulava, Dennis Espino took care of Coke's inside attack as he tallied 15 points in what could be his best game as a Tiger so far.
Wesley Gonzales also had a significant contribution for the Tigers with 13 markers.
The complacent Giants were led by James Yap, who finished with 15 points, while Kerby Raymundo, Niño Canaleta and rookie Rico Maierhofer added 13, 12 and 11 markers, respectively.
